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At the end of each month the SoPD writes a post which provides an overview of some of the major pieces of Parkinson’s-related research that were made available during March 2018. The post is divided into four parts based on the type of research (Basic biology, disease mechanism, clinical research, and other news). |
So, what happened during March 2018?
In world news:
March 25th – Qantas launches direct non-stop Boeing 787 Dreamliner flights between Perth Airport and Heathrow Airport, making it the first commercially non-stop service between Australia and the United Kingdom (17 hours on a plane – strewth!).
Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Source: Deredactie
March 14th – Prof Stephen Hawking, English theoretical physicist and cosmologist, sadly passed away at age 76. Diagnosed with in a very rare early-onset, slow-progressing form of Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS; also known as motor neurone disease or MND) in 1963 at age 21, he was gradually left him wheel chair bound. An amazing mind and a sad loss.
Prof Stephen Hawking. Source: BBC
A funeral for Prof Hawking was held in Cambridge. The bell at Great St. Mary’s tolled 76 times at the start of the service. His remains will be cremated and his ashes will be interred at London’s Westminster Abbey near the remains of Isaac Newton.
King’s Parade in Cambridge was absolutely packed with mourners. Source: News.rthk
March 19th – In other sad news, ‘Sudan’, the world’s last male northern white rhinoceros died in Kenya, making the subspecies ‘functionally extinct’. Poachers had reduced the population from 2000 in the 1960s to just 15 1980s, and efforts to keep the species alive .
Sudan, the last surviving male northern white rhino. Source: PBS
March 24 – In over 800 cities internationally, people participated in student-led demonstrations against gun violence and mass shootings, calling for stronger gun control in the ‘March for our lives‘.
Source: Marchforourlives
And finally, on the 17th March, a driver in Milton Keynes (UK) got into big trouble with the law when he was pulled over and presented a police officer with an obvious fake drivers license (Source: Sky News):
Fake news Mr Trump? Clearly a fake. Everyone knows Homer lives at 742 Evergreen Terrace!
In the world of Parkinson’s research, a great deal of new research and news was reported:
The Science of Parkinson's 