Here is a bit more background on why these small types of galaxies are not known for producing massive star formations like their enormous relatives:

“For many reasons, dwarf irregular galaxies like WLM are poorly equipped to form star clusters,” noted Monica Rubio, an astronomer with the University of Chile and lead author on a paper to appear in the scientific journal Nature. “These galaxies are fluffy with very low densities. They also lack the heavy elements that contribute to star formation. Such galaxies should only form dispersed stars rather than concentrated clusters, but that is clearly not the case.”

By studying this galaxy with ALMA, the astronomers were able to locate, for the first time, compact regions that appear able to emulate the nurturing environments found in larger galaxies.

“Molecules, and carbon monoxide in particular, play an important role in star formation,” said Rubio. “As gas clouds begin to collapse, temperatures and densities rise, pushing back against gravity. That’s where these molecules and dust particles come to the rescue by absorbing some of the heat through collisions and radiating it into space at infrared and submillimeter wavelengths.” This cooling effect enables gravity to continue the collapse until a star forms.

To the general science fan to the seasoned astronomer, this is a very important breakthrough.  Congrats to the team at ALMA and we’re looking forward to more great research about dwarf galaxies from them!

thanks to naro.edu for the great info and pic