December 28, 1993

NEW forms of microbial life are being discovered in such abundance deep inside the Earth that some scientists are beginning to suspect that the planet has a hidden biosphere extending miles down whose total mass may rival or exceed that of all surface life. If a deep biosphere does exist, scientists say, its discovery will rewrite textbooks while shedding new light on the mystery of life's origins. Even skeptics say the thesis is intriguing enough to warrant new studies of the subterranean realm.

Strobe Talbott, a longtime friend of President Clinton and a former journalist who was catapulted into policy-making prominence as the Clinton Administration's top Russia strategist, will be named the State Department's No. 2 official, senior Administration officials said today. Secretary of State Warren Christopher, who is on vacation at his Santa Barbara home, will announce the appointment with Mr. Talbott at his side in Los Angeles on Tuesday, the officials said.

Companies The insurance industry is changing the way it sells homeowner insurance after big losses from Hurricane Andrew. Companies say they are using new techniques to measure risk better and to price coverage more appropriately, raising prices for higher-risk customers while reducing costs for those at less risk. [ Page A1. ]

While the appointments and pronouncements of the Giuliani transition are drawing intense public scrutiny, another round of citywide appointments -- with a decidedly more Democratic slant -- is being made by the incoming Comptroller and Public Advocate. In the weeks since the election, both Mark J. Green, who will become the Public Advocate, and the incoming Comptroller, Alan G. Hevesi, have been working in relative obscurity, forming their own staffs and setting goals for their respective offices. And while they, like Mayor-elect Rudolph W. Giuliani, are far from completing their appointments, certain patterns are beginning to take shape.

Trade relations between the United States and Japan took a turn for the worse today as the two countries announced another drop in the foreign share of Japan's computer chip market, the leading barometer of trans-Pacific trade. In response, the United States ordered emergency talks with Japan, a step that could eventually lead to trade sanctions.