Renowned British Scientist, Stephen Hawking, Is Dead

Renowned British physicist Stephen Hawking, whose mental genius and physical disability made him a household name and inspiration across the globe, has died at age 76, his family said Wednesday.

Propelled to superstardom by his 1988 book “A Brief History of Time”, which became an unlikely worldwide bestseller, Hawking dedicated his life to unlocking the secrets of the Universe.

His genius and wit won over fans from far beyond the rarified world of astrophysics, earning comparisons with Albert Einstein and Sir Isaac Newton.

Hawking died peacefully at his home in the British university city of Cambridge in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

“We are deeply saddened that our beloved father passed away today,” Professor Hawking’s children, Lucy, Robert, and Tim said in a statement carried by Britain’s Press Association news agency.

“He was a great scientist and an extraordinary man whose work and legacy will live on for many years.”

Hawking defied predictions he would only live for a few years after developing a form of motor neurone disease in his early 20s.

The illness gradually robbed him of mobility, leaving him confined to a wheelchair, almost completely paralysed and unable to speak except through his trademark voice synthesiser.

“His courage and persistence with his brilliance and humour inspired people across the world,” his family said.

“He once said, ‘It would not be much of a universe if it wasn’t home to the people you love.’ We will miss him forever.”

– A titan of science –

Born on January 8, 1942 — 300 years to the day after the death of the father of modern science, Galileo Galilei — Stephen William Hawking became one of the world’s most well-regarded scientists and entered the pantheon of science titans.

His death was announced on the 139th anniversary of the birth of Albert Einstein.

Inside the shell of his increasingly useless body was a razor-sharp mind, with an enduring fascination with the mysteries of black holes.

His work focused on bringing together relativity — the nature of space and time — and quantum theory — how the smallest particles behave — to explain the creation of the Universe and how it is governed.

“My goal is simple,” he once said. “It is complete understanding of the universe, why it is as it is and why it exists at all.”

But he was also a beloved figure in popular culture, with cameos in “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and “The Simpsons”, while his voice appeared in Pink Floyd songs.

Tributes began pouring in from scientists around the world, lauding him as an inspiration.

American astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson tweeted his condolences, with a characteristically cosmological reference.

“His passing has left an intellectual vacuum in his wake. But it’s not empty. Think of it as a kind of vacuum energy permeating the fabric of spacetime that defies measure,” the scientist said.

Stephen Toope, vice-chancellor of the University of Cambridge, called Hawking “a unique individual who will be remembered with warmth and affection not only in Cambridge but all over the world.”

NASA issued its own Twitter eulogy, publishing a video of the scientist grinning as he soared into weightlessness on a zero-gravity flight at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, escaping his wheelchair for a brief period of time.

“His theories unlocked a universe of possibilities that we & the world are exploring. May you keep flying like superman in microgravity, as you said to astronauts on @Space_Station in 2014.”

His death even drew mourning from celebrities not normally associated with the intricacies of astrophysics.

American singer Katy Perry said there was “a big black hole in my heart”.

Meanwhile, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Hawking had “made the world a better place, ” calling his death “anguishing”.

– ‘Not afraid of death’ –

Hawking’s first marriage to Jane Wilde in 1965 gave him three children and was immortalised in the 2014 film “The Theory of Everything”.

The couple split after 25 years and he married his former nurse, Elaine Mason, but the union broke down amid allegations, denied by him, he was being abused.

Hawking became one of the youngest fellows of Britain’s most prestigious scientific body, the Royal Society, at the age of 32.

In 1979 he was appointed Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University — a post previously held by Newton — where he had moved from Oxford University to study theoretical astronomy and cosmology.

Hawking was an outspoken commentator on life back on earth, voicing his disapproval in recent years of both the election of Donald Trump in the United States and Britain’s vote to leave the European Union.

He was unafraid of ruffling the feathers of the religious, dismissing the concept of an afterlife in a 2011 Guardian interview.

“I have lived with the prospect of an early death for the last 49 years. I’m not afraid of death, but I’m in no hurry to die. I have so much I want to do first,” he said at the time.

Tillerson ‘Unaware’ Of Reason For His Removal

Outgoing US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson did not speak to President Donald Trump before he was sacked on Tuesday and has not been given a reason for his ouster, a top aide said.

“The secretary did not speak to the president this morning and is unaware of the reason, but he is grateful for the opportunity to serve, and still believes strongly that public service is a noble calling and not to be regretted,” Undersecretary of State Steve Goldstein said.

Tillerson arrived back in Washington before dawn on Tuesday after a tour of African countries and a few hours later Trump announced abruptly on Twitter that he was to be replaced by CIA director Mike Pompeo.

“We wish Secretary-Designate Pompeo well,” Goldstein — who is undersecretary of state for public affairs and public diplomacy — said, in a series of tweets from his official account.

“The secretary had every intention of remaining because of the tangible progress made on critical national security issues. He established and enjoyed relationships with his counterparts,” he said.

“The secretary will miss his colleagues at the Department of State and enjoyed working together with the Department of Defense in an uncommonly robust relationship,” he added, in a nod to Tillerson’s close working relationship with Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis.

Tillerson And I Disagreed On Some Things, Says Trump

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday spoke of his disagreements with the ousted secretary of state Rex Tillerson.

Some of this disagreement according to Trump include the Iran nuclear deal.

He explained this as his decision to replace Tillerson with Mike Pompeo.

“We got along actually quite well but we disagreed on things,” Trump told reporters.

“When you look at the Iran deal, I thought it was terrible, he thought it was okay. I wanted to either break it or do something, he felt a little differently. So we were not really thinking the same.

ALS: The Disease That Stephen Hawking Defied For Decades

British physicist Stephen Hawking was one of the most famous sufferers of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the fatal neurological disease that paralysed his body but did nothing to curb his contribution to science.

The rare condition normally claims the lives of those who have it within two to three years of diagnosis, making Hawking’s five-decade fight to overcome the disease an extraordinary exception.

The neurodegenerative condition attacks the motor nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, hampering their ability to communicate with muscles and control voluntary movements, leading to eventual paralysis.

Early symptoms of stiffness and muscle weakness worsen over time as victims gradually lose the ability to walk, speak and breathe.

The deadly condition is very rare, occurring on average among two new cases per 100,000 people every year, most typically among individuals aged between 55 and 65.

It became something of a household name in 2014 after the viral “Ice Bucket Challenge”, which saw people upload videos of themselves pouring cold water over their heads in a bid to raise awareness about the disease.

There is currently no cure or treatment that halts or reverses ALS, though there are some options to can help manage symptoms.

The disease takes two main forms, according to the US-based ALS Association.

The vast majority of people suffer from a “sporadic” version that can affect anyone while up to ten percent of cases in the US are inherited.

Military veterans are up to twice as likely to be diagnosed as the general public, for unknown reasons.

The average survival time for those affected by ALS is three years, according to the ALS Association.

Only five percent of patients live for 20 years or more.

Researchers have said Hawking’s exceptional longevity remains a mystery, though some have noted that the diseases’ progression varies by patient and could be governed by genetics.

Other famous victims of the disease include playwright Sam Shepard, who died in August 2017, “Sesame Street” co-creator Jon Stone and jazz musician Charles Mingus.

ALS is commonly referred to as “Lou Gehrig’s disease” in a nod to the baseball legend who is believed to have died from the illness in 1941.

Millions In China Mourn ‘Giant Star’ Hawking

Millions of Chinese mourned Stephen Hawking on Wednesday, bidding farewell to a “giant star” admired in China for stoically rising above physical disability and posting heartfelt messages to his Chinese fans on social media.

Already well-known in China, the British cosmologist two years ago further endeared himself to fans in the country when he opened an account on the Twitter-like Weibo platform, posting in both Chinese and English.

The account garnered one million fans within its first few hours and now has nearly five million, with his infrequent posts typically generating tens of thousands of admiring comments and earning him the affectionate nickname “Hawking Dada”, or “Uncle Hawking.”

News of Hawking’s death at 76 quickly became the top-trending Weibo topic, with the hashtag #Hawking passed# generating more than 300 million reads and nearly 200,000 comments within a few hours after his death was announced.

Many said his passing was “the falling of a giant star.”

“The deterioration of his body did not trap him. Today this superhuman brain has left this world, and his next journey, death, remains a mystery,” one user said.

“I hope he has the strength to send us information from the next world.”

Another user wrote: “Even though I can’t understand Hawking Dada’s books… he is the one who knows the secret of this world.”

Most of Hawking’s life was spent in a wheelchair, crippled by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a form of motor neuron disease. He died at his home in England on Wednesday, his family announced.

Hawking, who had travelled to China previously, even visiting the Great Wall in 2002, posted on Weibo about black holes and other phenomena, and wrote in one message that being on China’s leading social media platform was “a source of great inspiration”.

One of his more popular postings was a June 2016 message of encouragement to tens of millions of Chinese students preparing for annual national college-entrance exams, a stressful, make-or-break ordeal that can determine one’s future.

“Whether you aim to be a doctor, teacher, scientist, musician, engineer, or a writer, be fearless in the pursuit of your aspirations. You are the next generation of big thinkers and thought leaders that will shape the future for generations to come – SH,” he wrote.

Stephen Hawking: A Brief History Of Genius

Stephen Hawking, who has died aged 76, was Britain’s most famous modern-day scientist, a genius who dedicated his life to unlocking the secrets of the Universe.

Born on January 8, 1942 — 300 years to the day after the death of the father of modern science, Galileo Galilei — he believed science was his destiny.

But fate also dealt Hawking a cruel hand.

Most of his life was spent in a wheelchair crippled by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a form of motor neurone disease that attacks the nerves controlling voluntary movement.

Remarkably, Hawking defied predictions he would only live for a few years, overcoming its debilitating effects on his mobility and speech that left him paralysed and able to communicate only via a computer speech synthesiser.

“I am quite often asked: how do you feel about having ALS?” he once wrote. “The answer is, not a lot.

“I try to lead as normal a life as possible, and not think about my condition, or regret the things it prevents me from doing, which are not that many.”

Stephen William Hawking, though, was far from normal.

Inside the shell of his increasingly useless body was a razor-sharp mind, fascinated by the nature of the Universe, how it was formed and how it might end.

“My goal is simple,” he once said. “It is complete understanding of the universe, why it is as it is and why it exists at all.”

Much of that work centred on bringing together relativity — the nature of space and time — and quantum theory — how the smallest particles in the Universe behave — to explain the creation of the Universe and how it is governed.

– Life on Earth at risk –

In 1974, he became one of the youngest fellows of Britain’s most prestigious scientific body, the Royal Society, at the age of 32.

In 1979 he was appointed Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University, where he had moved from Oxford University to study theoretical astronomy and cosmology.

A previous holder of the prestigious post was the 17th-century British scientist Isaac Newton.

Hawking eventually put Newton’s gravitational theories to the test in 2007 when, aged 65, he went on a weightless flight in the United States as a prelude to a hoped-for sub-orbital spaceflight.

Characteristically, he did not see the trip as a mere birthday present.

Instead, he said he wanted to show that disability was no bar to achievement and to encourage interest in space, where he believed humankind’s destiny lay.

“I think the human race has no future if it doesn’t go into space,” he said.

“I believe life on Earth is at an ever-increasing risk of being wiped out by a disaster such as sudden global warming, nuclear war, a genetically engineered virus or other dangers.”

More recently he said artificial intelligence (AI) could contribute to the eradication of disease and poverty while warning of its potential dangers.

“In short, success in creating AI could be the biggest event in the history of our civilisation.

“Alongside the benefits, AI will also bring dangers, like powerful autonomous weapons, or new ways for the few to oppress the many,” Hawking said in 2016, at the opening of a new AI research centre at Cambridge University.

– Pop culture and politics –

Hawking’s genius brought him global fame and he became known as a witty communicator dedicated to bringing science to a wider audience.

His 1988 book “A Brief History of Time” sought to explain to non-scientists the fundamental theories of the universe and it became an international bestseller, bringing him global acclaim.

It was followed in 2001 by “The Universe in a Nutshell”.

In 2007, Hawking published a children’s book, “George’s Secret Key to the Universe”, with his daughter, Lucy, seeking to explain the workings of the solar system, asteroids, his pet subject of black holes and other celestial bodies.

Hawking also moved into popular culture, with cameos in “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and “The Simpsons”, while his voice appeared in Pink Floyd songs.

Beyond scientific debate Hawking also weighed into politics, describing Donald Trump as “a demagogue who seems to appeal to the lowest common denominator” ahead of his election as US president.

Hawking also warned Britain ahead of the Brexit referendum in 2016 against leaving the European Union: “Gone are the days when we could stand on our own against the world.”

– Making the most of ‘every minute’ –

Hawking first married Jane Wilde in 1965 and had three children. The couple split after 25 years and he married his former nurse, Elaine Mason, but the union broke down amid allegations, denied by him, of abuse.

The love story between Hawking and Wilde was retold in the 2014 film “The Theory of Everything”, which won Britain’s Eddie Redmayne the best actor Oscar for his portrayal of the scientist.

The Oscar triumph was celebrated by Hawking, who has reportedly said there were moments watching the film when he thought he was watching himself.

He was also the subject of a 2013 documentary, “Hawking”, in which he reflected on his life: “Because every day could be my last, I have the desire to make the most of each and every minute.”

UN Slams ‘Monstrous Indifference’ To Children’s Suffering In Syria

Flouting demands for Syria ceasefires shows a “monstrous indifference” to the suffering of millions of children needing a respite from violence, a top UN rights official said Tuesday.

A resolution adopted by the United Nations Security Council two weeks ago calling for a 30-day ceasefire across Syria has been broadly ignored, with attacks increasing on the rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta.

Kate Gilmore, the UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, called for immediate action to help children caught in the fighting.

In an address to the UN Human Rights Council, she voiced particular concern for the some 125,000 children trapped in Eastern Ghouta, “many acutely malnourished, most profoundly traumatised.”

“What is happening to those children is too graphic for our TV screens, but not graphic enough it seems to motivate those who can stop the senseless violence to do so,” she said.
“Is it not tantamount to a monstrous indifference to the suffering of children that Security Council resolutions for ceasefires are flouted?” she asked.

More than 350,000 people have been killed in Syria’s devastating seven-year conflict, according to fresh figures released from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Monday.

Panos Moumtzis, the UN’s top humanitarian official for Syria, said Tuesday that 2017 was “the deadliest year of the Syrian war for children.”

“Sadly, 2018 started really in a terrible way as well,” he told reporters, adding that in the first two months of the year, “more than 1,000 children were either reported killed or injured through the violence in multiple locations.”

A full two-thirds of Syria’s 8.4 million children need humanitarian assistance, while one million of them live in areas that are difficult to reach by aid convoys and 170,000 in besieged areas, according to UN figures.

“The scope, the scale, the gravity of the crimes against the children of Syria are just shocking,” Gilmore told reporters, lamenting that the international community had “failed by every known measure and that should shake us to the core of our humanity.”

Asked what hope there was the situation in Syria would improve, she answered with a shaking voice that “hope has long left.”

“This is a story no longer of hope. This is a story now of accountability and responsibility,” she said.

“Those responsible should know that we do not stand idly by, only wringing passive hands,” she said, stressing that “those responsible for these war crimes and crimes against humanity are being identified, the chain of evidence is being preserved, dossiers are being built up for their prosecution.”