Home>News Center>World
             
     

    Astrophysicist Hawking moved to specialist hospital
    (Agencies)
    Updated: 2004-02-25 09:08

    World-renowned physicist Stephen Hawking -- author of science best-seller "A Brief History of Time" -- has been transferred to a specialist heart and lung hospital due to the effects of pneumonia.

    Hawking, 62, who is wheelchair-bound due to the motor neurone disease he has suffered for more than 40 years, was moved to Papworth Hospital in Cambridge from a general hospital also in his home.

    "He's stable and was brought in yesterday (Monday) morning," said a spokeswoman for Papworth, a centre of excellence in cardiac treatment.

    Cambridge University, where Hawking is a mathematics professor, was unable to say why he had been moved but said he had initially gone to hospital "in relation to the pneumonia he was being treated for in December and January".

    Police are currently investigating claims made by nurses looking after Hawking who allege that he had been physically abused by his wife, Elaine.

    Last month the physicist issued a statement saying he "firmly and wholeheartedly" rejected the allegations, describing media reports of supposed assaults by his wife as "completely false".

    "Brief History", which sold more than 10 million copies, made Hawking a millionaire and one of the most famous scientists on the planet.

    When Hawking was diagnosed with motor neurone disease while still a university undergraduate, his life expectancy was put at around two years, and he is one of the longest-surviving sufferers of the condition.

    Despite his illness and his need to speak through an electronic voice box, Hawking has continued to tour the world, giving science lectures.

     
      Today's Top News     Top World News
     

    Greenspan: Free floatation of the yuan could be risky

     

       
     

    Political advisers pledge to better people's life

     

       
     

    Jam-proof satellite going up next year

     

       
     

    More and more women saying no to abusers

     

       
     

    Bush, Kerry open battle for White House

     

       
     

    NASA: Mars had enough water for life

     

       
      Haiti rebels vow to lay down arms
       
      US to tight Iraq border security
       
      Study: Thousands of girls fighting on front lines
       
      Bush, Kerry open battle for White House
       
      Dutroux: I was child sex ring pawn
       
      No permanent asylum yet for Aristide
       
     
      Go to Another Section  
     
     
      Story Tools  
       
      News Talk  
      San Francisco on gay marriage blitz as mayor slams Bush  
    Advertisement