Stephen Hawking at 70: How has he survived so long? [View all]

[Better Believe It]

Stephen Hawking at 70: How has he survived so long?
By MARIA CHENG
January 5, 2012

CAMBRIDGE, England — British scientist Stephen Hawking has decoded some of the most puzzling mysteries of the universe but he has left one mystery unsolved: How he has managed to survive so long with such a crippling disease.

The physicist and cosmologist was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease when he was a 21-year-old student at Cambridge University. Most people die within a few years of the diagnosis, called motor neurone disease in the U.K. On Sunday, Hawking will turn 70.

"I don't know of anyone who's survived this long," said Ammar Al-Chalabi, director of the Motor Neurone Disease Care and Research Centre at King's College London. He does not treat Hawking and described his longevity as "extraordinary."

To mark his birthday Sunday, Cambridge University is holding a public symposium on "The State of the Universe," featuring talks from 27 leading scientists, including Hawking himself. For 30 years, he held a mathematics post at the university previously held by Sir Isaac Newton. Hawking retired from that position in 2009 and is now director of research at the university's Centre for Theoretical Cosmology.


Astrophysicist Stephen Hawking has survived the crippling motor neuron disease for nearly 50 years, while most people die within a few years of diagnosis.

Read the full article at:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45886738/ns/health-aging/