Remember the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge? It ACTUALLY Worked
Throwback to 2014when everyone started pouring all those buckets of ice over each otherand your mates keptnominatingyou to donate a fiver and do the same in aid of theALS Ice Bucket Challenge too.
WELL, while itmight'veseemed a little sillyand many doubters at the time believed it wouldn't 'actually' make a difference,it turns out that it's had someveryreal and very important results.
*Blares party horn*
Yep, the $115 million donated during the eight weeks on the challenge has actually helped fund research that'sledscientists toidentify agene called 'NEK1', which is said to be responsible for the disease. Knowing one of the three genes that cause the disease allows doctors to target those genes for therapy and treatment meaning it's a big step forward for those fighting it.
If you didn't know, ALS or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is a disease which causes nerves in the brain and spinal cord to degenerate,eventually makingit impossible to breathe, meaning the illness is currently incurable.
But thanks to the Ice Bucket Challenge craze going viraland celebs like Niall Horan, Taylor Swift,Selena Gomez andJustin Timberlake getting in on the action to raiseawareness, donations camefrom 2.5 million people around the world.
So when you relive the videos of you, your friends and family and all those celebs who endured 5 seconds of unbearably cold water, think how it all made a huge difference.
Go you!