Stephen Hawking/very ill

[pledm]

Top scientist Stephen Hawking 'very ill' after being rushed to hospital

Professor Stephen Hawking, one of the world's most preeminent scientists, is 'very ill' in hospital, it emerged today.

The 67-year-old genius, who works at Cambridge University, is undergoing tests at the institution's Addenbrooke's Hospital.

A university spokesman said the physicist, who is best known for his book A Brief History Of Time, was taken there by ambulance.


Professor Stephen Hawking is undergoing tests at the Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge

'Professor Hawking is very ill and has today been taken by ambulance to Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge,' said the University spokesman.

'He is undergoing tests. He has been unwell for a couple of weeks.'

Professor Peter Haynes, head of the university's department of applied mathematics and theoretical physics, added: 'Professor Hawking is a remarkable colleague. We all hope he will be amongst us again soon.'


Professor Hawking, floating on a zero-gravity jet in 2007, is one of the world's longest-surviving sufferers of motor neurone disease

Professor Hawking, a foremost expert on gravity, black holes and the origins of the universe, suffers from motor neurone disease and is wheelchair-bound. He speaks with the help of a voice synthesiser.

He developed symptoms of the disease while studying in the 1960s and is one of the world's longest-surviving sufferers.

He has worked at Cambridge's department of applied mathematics and theoretical physics for more than 30 years and since 1979 has been the University's Lucasian Professor of Mathematics.


Professor Hawking with his former wife Jane in 1999 and right, with sons Robert and Tim in the 1980s

Professor Hawking was awarded a CBE in 1982, became a Companion of Honour in 1989 and is a Fellow of the Royal Society.

He was born in Oxford but his family moved to St Albans, Hertfordshire, when he was eight.

He studied at St Albans School before reading physics at University College Oxford and then moving to Cambridge to carry out research in cosmology.

One of Professor Hawking's last public appearances was in September when he unveiled a £1million clock erected at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.

He lives in Cambridge and has three children with former wife Jane and one grandchild.
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Just a fan of Mr.Hawking.

[pledm]

Good news;



Physicist Stephen Hawking "comfortable" in hospital

LONDON (Reuters) – Physicist Stephen Hawking, the author of "A Brief History of Time" who is almost completely paralyzed by motor neurone disease, was comfortable in hospital on Tuesday, his university said.

Hawking, 67, was rushed on Monday to Addenbrooke's hospital in Cambridge, the city where he is a professor of applied mathematics and theoretical physics.

"Professor Hawking is being kept in for observation at Addenbrooke's hospital this morning. He is comfortable and his family is looking forward to him making a full recovery," the university said in a statement on Tuesday.

Hawking, who is only able to speak through a computer-generated voice synthesizer, had been ill for a couple of weeks, with his condition deteriorating since he returned from a trip to the United States at the weekend, a source said.

He canceled an appearance at Arizona State University on April 6 due to a chest infection. A pre-recorded lecture was played to a science conference instead.

Hawking is renowned for his work on black holes, cosmology and quantum gravity.

His books have helped to bring complex theories of physics and time to a mass audience. He achieved global recognition with the publication in 1988 of "A Brief History of Time," an account of the origins of the universe.

Hawking began suffering from motor neurone disease in his early 20s but went on to establish himself as one of the world's leading scientific authorities, and is constantly called upon to comment on new discoveries in astronomy and physics.

[Bob]

I really admire this man. His books are written in a way that ANYONE can understand physics. And that is not easy to do. I hope he will recover completely.