In 1967 astronomers trashed his suggestion that energy pulsating in the distant universe was the signature of collapsing stars. The subsequent observation of pulsars won two other scientists a Nobel Prize. And proved Gold correct. In 1992 he predicted that Martian meteorites might contain fossilized microbes. Central to his views is his idea that the origin and bulk of biological life is not on the surface of the Earth but deep within it.
Life forms on the surface like plants and animals are later adaptations.
In a region between 10 and 300 kilometers deep, the hydrocarbons nourish vast colonies of microbes where all of earthly life began, and where today there's a vastly greater mass of living things than exist on the surface of the planet. Some scientist think similar forces are at work elsewhere in the solar system, perhaps on Jupiter's moon Europa. Furthermore, astronomers have detected petroleum molecules deep in space, where plant life is not thought to be possible. This news couldn't come at a better time. Recent decisions to cut petro production by the OPEC nations have left Americans struggling to catch their breaths in the wake of this latest oil shock.