Prof Stephen Hawking: man faces nuclear armageddon and must colonise space
Professor Stephen Hawking in his office at University of Cambridge Photo: Sarah Lee/Science Museum
Mankind faces nuclear armageddon and must build colonies on Mars and beyond, Stephen Hawking has said.
By Matthew Holehouse 8:48AM GMT 06 Jan 2012
"It is possible that the human race could become extinct but it is not inevitable. I think it is almost certain that a disaster, such as nuclear war or global warming, will befall the earth within a thousands years," Professor Hawking, the Cambridge University cosmologist and theoretical physicist said.
"It is essential that we colonise space. I believe that we will eventually establish self-sustaining colonies on Mars, and other bodies in the solar system, although probably not within the next 100 years.
"I am optimistic that progress within science and technology will eventually allow humans to spread beyond the solar system and out into the far-reaches of the universe," he said.
Professor Hawking was answering questions submitted by listeners to BBC Radio 4's Today programme to mark his seventieth birthday.
But if man should meet alien life on its journey into space, the consequences for humanity could be grave, Prof Hawking warned.
"The discovery of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe would be the greatest scientific discovery ever. But it would be very risky to attempt to communicate with an alien civilisation.
"If aliens decided to visit us, then the outcome might be similar to when Europeans arrived in the Americas. That did not turn out well for the Native Americans."
He said did not believe the results of the CERN experiments which appeared to show particles travelling faster than the speed of light - in defiance of the known laws of physics.
"Einstein's theory of relativity predicts that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light. Thus if the Opera experiment is correct, and neutrinos do travel faster than light, then relativity theory is wrong.
"However, I don't believe the Opera results, because they disagree with the detection of neutrinos from supernova SN 1987A."
Bursts of neutrinos detected in 1987 from that stellar explosion suggested neutrinos travel at the same speed of light. If CERN's experiment is correct, they would have been detected on earth years before the light from the explosion was seen on earth, physicists believe. Instead, they arrived within hours of one another.
A listener from Lagos asked Hawking, Britain's most celebrated physicist, whether there "was a time when there was nothing".
"The origin of the universe can be explained by the laws of physics, without any need for miracles or divine intervention," replied the professor, who uses a speech synthesizer due to his debilitating Motor Neurone Disease.
"These laws predict that the universe was spontaneously created out of nothing in a rapidly expanding state. It's called inflation, because it's like the way prices go up at an ever increasing rate. Time is defined only with the universe, so it makes no sense to talk about the time before the universe began. It would be like asking for a point south of the south pole."
Thursday, 28 l 10 l 2010 Source: Mind Your Body; The Straits Times By: Poon Chian Hui
Signs of chest infection are hard to pick up in the elderly. The fact that they are harder hit makes them even more vulnerable. POON CHIAN HUI reports
Coughs and breathlessness in the elderly are no trivial matter. They could signal pneumonia – an infection of the airways and lung tissue common among the elderly – which could be fatal. “In fact, pneumonia is such a recognised cause of death among older people that it has been called an old man's ‘friend', said geriatrician Chan Kin Ming, who practises at Gleneagles and Mount Alvernia medical centres.
In August, 70-year-old retiree Tai See Too was caught by surprise when he went from feeling breathless to being hospitalised for a week. The former policeman had to wear an oxygen mask for two days and was put on antibiotics after his right lung was found to have a bacterial infection. “I was surprised because my cholesterol levels, my blood sugar and everything was okay,” he said. “Whenever I fell sick with flu or fever, I would recover after one or two days.”
In Singapore, pneumonia is the third leading cause of death – ahead of accidents, diabetes and diseases like stroke. Only cancer and ischaemic heart disease kill more people, according to data from the Ministry of Health. Pneumonia is also the fifth most common cause of hospitalisations here, with about 11,000 admitted in 2007. It hits people above 65 years of age harder than their younger counterparts.
A study by Changi General Hospital (CGH) .. http://www.cgh.com.sg/ .. in 2008 found that patients aged 65 and above stayed in hospital for an average of nine days – almost twice that of younger patients, whose stays averaged four days. “The numbers show why it’s so important for the public to be more aware of the dangers of chest infections in the elderly,” said Dr Augustine Tee, a consultant in respiratory medicine at CGH who was involved in the study.
Weaker body system Elderly people may be more vulnerable to getting pneumonia because of the weakening of the body’s protective mechanisms, said Dr Tan Thai Lian, head of geriatric medicine at Tan Tock Seng Hospital. One such mechanism is coughing, which helps to expel germs from the lungs. “The cough response gets weaker with age, so they may not be able to cough out fluids or secretions that enter their lungs,” said Dr Tan.
In the same way, elderly people have trouble clearing phlegm from their throats. On top of that, the elderly who are bedbound are more at risk because lying down is bad for the lungs. “Lying down limits the expansion of the chest wall and when the chest wall is unable to expand, the lungs start to trap bacterial secretions,” said Dr Tan. “It’s like a dead pond that starts to breed mosquitoes.”
Vague symptoms The problem is compounded because chest infections can be hard to spot in elderly patients who may not display the classic symptoms of pneumonia, such as fever. This is because, unlike younger people, their immune systems no longer function optimally and the body does not kick into gear to expel the infection.
Said Dr Chan: “It is only after a few days that some signs of a chest infection start to surface and this makes the infection easy to miss.” Signs that an old person is not well may show up in their behaviour, instead. For example, he may be confused, lose his appetite, have muscle aches, feel lethargic or have problems urinating.
Often, the complaints are so vague that people do not have a sense of urgency and put off seeking help. Yet, seeking help early is vital as a lung inflammation can spell danger. “The lung tissue is like a sponge. If this sponge is destroyed, it won’t be able to absorb any oxygen,” said Dr Tee.
Death from pneumonia results from respiratory failure or complications to other organs. When the body is battling an infection, other organs may also suffer stress, a phenomenon termed septic shock. This leads to multi-organ failure. Up to half of those who reach this stage will not survive, said Dr Tee.
Other than seeking help early, one can also prevent chest infections by staying active and ensuring safe swallowing so that food particles do not end up in the lungs, said Dr Chan. A vaccine is also available against the pneumococcus bacteria, a common cause of pneumonia. This injection is recommended for those above 65 years of age. One should also go for regular influenza vaccinations, as influenza can sometimes develop into pneumonia, said Dr Tee.
News 
Market Data 
Discover 
AI
