Acclaimed British physicist Stephen Hawking undergoing tests at Rome hospital

Rome: Renowned British physicist Stephen Hawking, who was recently in the news after he warned that aliens will be the reason mankind will be wiped out from the face of this Earth in another 1000 years, has been hospitalized.

He has been admitted to Policlinico Gemelli's Nemo Centre in Rome and is being treated for a breathing problem.

The 74-year-old scientist suffers from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a form of motor neuron disease and is unable to move or speak.

Hawking travelled to Rome for a meeting at the Vatican of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences from November 25-29, where he met Pope Francis.

The 2014 Oscar-winning film "The Theory of Everything" portrays the remarkable life of Hawking, who was diagnosed with motor neurone disease when he was a 21-year-old student at Cambridge University.

(With IANS inputs)