The campaign ended up raising $115 million for the ALS Association.
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At the time, if you remember, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge came under fire for being “slacktivism”, or activism from the couch and was criticized for wasting water while California was experiencing a severe drought. This discovery creates potential for a new drug for ALS patients targeting the NEK1 gene, and perhaps opens the path to an eventual cure.
The ALS Association says money raised from the challenge is the reason scientists have discovered a gene that contributes to the inherited type of this disease. Now, if only people could be so enthusiastic about donating money to disease research without clogging your social media feeds…
“The discovery of NEK1 is significant but is not a breakthrough – some 30 genes tied to the disease have already been identified – according to Brian Frederick, executive vice president for communications and development for the ALS Association.” .
ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.
All those buckets of ice dumped on everyone – from celebrities to your mom – in 2014’s viral “Ice Bucket Challenge” craze were actually worth something.
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“The sophisticated gene analysis that led to this finding was only possible because of the large number of ALS samples available”, said Dr. Lucie Bruijin, Chief Scientist at the ALS Association. ALS causes paralysis and leads to early death, typically within two to five years of diagnosis.
