The minerals 250 km deep in the blue planet's crust determine whether there is life on the planet.

If the earth did not have the ability to store oxygen deep in its mantle, it is unlikely that life would exist on its surface. Scientists from the University of Bonn in Germany reached this conclusion after conducting precise tests on majorite, a mineral that typically only exists at depths of hundreds of kilometers where there are extremely high pressures and temperatures. Researchers from Bonn have published their findings in the journal *Nature*, demonstrating that under these conditions, this mineral can store oxygen and act as an oxygen reservoir. As explained by Dr. Wilhelm Bauer, a professor at the Institute of Mineralogy at the University of Bonn: "The higher the pressure, the more oxygen majorite can store..."