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Stephen Hawking is so famous, you'd recognize his voice anywhere.
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But he also famously has ALS, which normally gives patients a very short time to live.
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So who is Stephen Hawking, and how is it that he has lived so long with this disorder?
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Hello world, Trace with a non-synthesized voice here for DNews.
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Stephen Hawking is 74.
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You know him.
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He's published over 200 papers and books.
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IMDb has him appearing in 65 tv shows and movies as himself.
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Hawking is an intelligent and popular mind in science and pop culture, in part because
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of his outrageous and cerebral theories on how the universe works, and also that he does
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it all from a wheelchair, with a computer synthesizer for his voice.
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But that's not really why he became such a big deal in science.
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In 1970, Hawking and his colleague Roger Penrose published a paper in the Proceedings of the
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Royal Society A proposing a new theorem for describing the Big Bang and how the universe
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began as a singularity… and will likely end as one.
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See, in 1970, The Big Bang theory was still debated, but because of this paper (and others)
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it gained more credence!
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After that, through conversations with other physicists about black holes, Hawking came
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up with a way to stitch together two branches of modern physics -- General Relativity and
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Quantum Theory -- basically, how the universe works on a macro level and a WAY smaller than
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micro level.
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Another paper in Nature in 1974 proposes the idea that black holes (governed by general
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relativity) can emit radiation and explode; and a few years later in 1980 he works to
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unify general relativity and the beginning of the universe by describing the moments
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after the Big Bang using quantum theory.
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These suggestions were also, and kind of obviously, super controversial.
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Though today, physicists generally think Hawking Radiation does help black holes evaporate.
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He's gone on to continue proposing these cockamamie ideas, all while his ALS makes him less and
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less physically abled.
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At age 21 he was diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS; also known as Lou
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Gehrig's Disease; though you're likely familiar with it thanks to the 2014 Ice Bucket Challenge.
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ALS is a \"progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and
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the spinal cord\".
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The word amyotrophic literally means no muscle nourishment.
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But the muscles aren't what's directly affected by ALS.
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Instead, nerve cells (called motor neurons) in the brain and spinal cord degenerate.
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These motor neurons tell the body's muscles to flex, so gradually, the brain loses control
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of its ability to command muscles.
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ALS affects everyone differently.
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For example, there are two neuronal groups: the upper and lower motor neurons.
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If ALS degrades the upper motor neurons located in the brain: muscles will tighten and resist
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movement.
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If it hits the lower motor neurons in the spinal cord: the person will feel weak, get
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twitches, and their muscles will waste away.
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As ALS progresses, it will start somewhere and then spread to surrounding motor neurons,
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affecting muscles all over the body.
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This can take away the ability to walk, write, speak, swallow, and breathe.
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Once the muscles don't get commands, they begin to atrophy -- or shrink.
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There's no cure, yet.
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And the ALS Association says half of people diagnosed live three or more years, but only
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ten percent will live more than 10 years.
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Though, Hawking is still kicking it, figuratively speaking!
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For some reason, Hawking's ALS didn't affect his ability to breathe (which would deprive
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him of oxygen) or swallow (which could cause dehydration or malnourishment) -- and left
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his face under his control.
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We know he can move his face, because that's how he controls his computer voice!
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A set of letters, scrolls in front of him, and a twitch from the cheek (detected by the
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arm on his glasses), selects a letter, then another, then words begin to appear as well.
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Though, there's no guarantee this will work forever.
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In the 1990s, he still had the use of his finger, but no longer.
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He lost the ability to speak, not because of ALS, by the way, but because of a terrible
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case of pneumonia he acquired in 1985 while visiting CERN in Geneva.
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Doctors in the UK gave him a tracheotomy to keep him breathing and he lost his ability
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to speak as a result.
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If you're thinking (like I was) holy crap, this guy has had a lot of stuff happen to
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him.
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Just remember, this doesn't keep Hawking down.
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He's travelled the world, and experienced zero gravity, (he, in his computer-voice,
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told reporters after, \"space, here I come.\") and he told the New York Times in 2011, “I
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am lucky to be working in theoretical physics, one of the few areas in which disability is
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not a serious handicap.”
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And he's kept his sense of humor, appearing on the Simpsons, Last Week Tonight, and more.
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In 2002, a neurologist told the British Medical Journal, \"I am not aware of anyone else who
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has survived with [ALS] as long.
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…the disease seems to have almost burnt out.
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... This kind of stabilisation is extremely rare.\"
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No one knows exactly why Hawking has lived so long with ALS, but it's pretty clear that
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he is a unique mind and man.
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When asked by the New York Times to give advice to others who may suffer from a disability,
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Stephen Hawking said, \"Concentrate on things your disability doesn't prevent you doing
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well, and don't regret the things it interferes with.
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Don't be disabled in spirit, as well as physically.\"
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Hawking has predicted many things in his lifetime, and he also thinks that for humanity to survive,
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we're going to have to leave Earth.
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We have video about why he thinks that, here.
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What's your favorite thing about Stephen Hawking?
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Why do you think he's cool?