In 2014, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge took the world by storm after going viral on social media. Today, the ALS Association says THAT challenge funded a scientific gene discovery in the battle against ALS.

Scientists from The University of Massachusetts Medical School's Project MinE have identified the new gene that contributes to the disease as NEK1, which could potentially lead to treating familial and sporadic ALS.

The ALS Association had donated 1 million dollars from The Ice Bucket Challenge in order for the scientists to research this gene.

In total, The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge raised 115 million dollars in just 2 months and has funded six research projects so far.  

ALS is a progressive neuro-degenerative disease that affects more than 30,000 Americans, with the average life expectancy of a person after diagnosis, averaging between 2 to 5 years.