Physicist Stephen Hawking "comfortable" in hospital

Physicist Stephen Hawking "comfortable" in hospital

www.reuters.com

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.

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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.

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I hope he gets better soon, he is one of the most important scientists of our life-time, seeing him in hospital does make me sad.

reply to post by Clairaudience


I tottaly agree with you but hopefully everything will be fine soon.
There are many valuable people around but i feel Hawking has more to give to the world, unlike modern politicians that give less and less...

I'm glad he's comfortable and expected to make a full recovery, but being reminded of his mortality is kind of upsetting. He's an amazing man and his eventual passing should rock the Earth to its very core in my opinion.

reply to post by Zanzibar


I don't know if the eart is or should be rocked to its core but his passage is certainly not going to be a good thing for science...

Good news! Thanks for posting this update. I keep sending good thoughts his way. He is a treasure.

I have seen a lot of hawking lately, he has been on a couple TV shows and his name is popping up all over the internet right now.

But if you watch him, he cant move at all, and replying through his computer can be a lengthy process.

What I always wondered, is what if his ass is really itchy. By the time he relays that message and someone comes to scratch, it could be a year or two. I don't understand how he gets so much stuff accomplished cause when my ass is itchy I need a small break to scratch.

I really hope that Mr. Hawking has a speedy recovery. He is one of the world's greatest minds and I think that he still has so much to offer us. Sadly, I don't think that he is going to be with us much longer. It's a miracle that he's survived this long. Most victims of ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) do not survive more than two or three years, at most. He's been diagnosed with the disease for 46 years - a long stretch, by any means.

Well i guess his stamina comes from the secret behind the secret. I am prety sure that a mind of his caliber can comrehend the secret deeper than the majority of people. Comprehension is relative in nature and i guess he is quite close to the real secret. As such he' s managed to keep up for so long despite his health status.

Whats the news on Hawking?

I haven't heard much lately except for last week when i heard he's not doing all that good...

Anyone?