An international team of scientists led by University of Hawai'i at Mānoa Professor Ralf I. Kaiser, Alexander M. Mebel of Florida International University, and Alexander Tielens of Leiden Observatory in the Netherlands, discovered a novel chemical route to form polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) – complex organic molecules such as naphthalene carrying fused benzene rings – in ultra-cold regions of interstellar space. The team announced their findings in the January 3 issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Funding for the study was provided by the U.S. Department of Energy, Basic Energy Sciences.  For the full article please click here.