Researchers have used the chemical fingerprints of zinc contained in meteorites to determine the origin of volatile elements on Earth. The results suggest that without 'unmelted' asteroids, there may not have been enough of these compounds on Earth for life to emerge.

One of the key components for the evolution of life as we know it is the presence of “volatiles”: elements and compounds that can be vaporized easily at relatively low temperatures. This means that understanding where these volatiles came from,

A recent study suggests that without certain unmelted asteroids, Earth may not have had enough critical compounds for life to exist.