1998: Alien lifeforms may be inside the Earth

By Steve Farrar, Science Correspondent Life forms so alien that scientists may simply not have recognized evidence of their existence could inhabit the Earth, according to a leading scientist. Dr. Tom Gold, emeritus professor of astronomy at Cornell University in America, believes that organisms based on silicon – completely unrelated to all the carbon-based life man has encountered so far – may live at great depths. In a forthcoming book, he will suggest that scientists should take the possibility more seriously. Gold, who is a member of the Royal Society, previously predicted that vast amounts of more conventional bacteria live miles down within the Earth’s crust. Scientists initially dismissed the idea, but many now agree with him. “So long as nobody suspects there could be […] Read More