Cambridge researcher on comets and the origin of life: “A rather romantic idea, but unlikely”

For decades, we have imagined that comets brought the building blocks of life to Earth. New research from the University of Cambridge puts this hypothesis into perspective. A recent study casts serious doubt on the possibility that comets played a role in the origin of life on Earth. According to scientists, the idea is more romantic than realistic. Although comets are known to carry organic compounds, the real question is what they actually deposit on Earth's surface. Comets, valuable reservoirs of organic molecules Comets are among the oldest bodies in the solar system. Made up of ice, dust (often earning them the nickname "dirty snowballs"), and carbon-based chemical compounds, they formed from the protostellar cloud about 4.6 billion years ago. Because they are nearly as old as the Sun, they are generally considered fossils of the solar system.

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