Yahoo Finance Ice Bucket Challenge Helps Identify ALS Gene
Remember the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge? Apparently, the viral money- and awareness-grabbing videos that drowned your newsfeeds in 2014 were worth it. The campaign raised enough funds to make an important research breakthrough: identifying a new ALS gene.
Researchers from Project MinE's global gene sequencing initiative (funded by money raised through the challenge) identified a new gene called NEK1, the ALS Association announced in a press release Monday. A study published Wednesday in Nature Genetics further details the findings. Because of the NEK1 gene's prolific nature -- it's one of the most common found in association with the disease -- researchers can use the new information to develop future gene therapies.
The ALS Association is touting this as the largest-ever inherited ALS study, with more than 80 researchers in 11 countries participating.
ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that inhibits muscles, ultimately leading to complete paralysis and death. In the U.S., it affects as many as 20,000 people at any given time, according to the ALS Association. Most ALS cases -- 90 percent -- are sporadic, which means they occur without a family history. Ten percent are genetic.
"Global collaboration among scientists, which was really made possible by ALS Ice Bucket Challenge donations, led to this important discovery," study co-author John Landers said in a statement. "It is a prime example of the success that can come from the combined efforts of so many people, all dedicated to finding the causes of ALS. This kind of collaborative study is, more and more, where the field is headed."
The Ice Bucket Challenge raised a total of about $115 million, and $77 million of that will go to research. Many celebrities garnered attention for their videos, from former President George W. Bush to Lady Gaga.
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David Oliver is Associate Editor, Social Media at U.S. News & World Report. Follow him on Twitter, connect with him on LinkedIn, or send him an email at doliver@usnews.com.
