Every other word on the news at the moment is 'attack' and it's pretty devastating, so we are continuing our month of #spreadjoy with some excellent news from the ALS Association.
The organisation that represents ALS disease, a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord.
Remember the 'ice bucket' phenomenon of 2014? The one where by millions of people dowsed themselves in ice and inevitably endured cynicism for jumping on the band wagon. Well hold your cynicism right there, because despite the backlash the campaign raised over $100m in a 30-day period, and the money able to fund a number of new research projects.
One of these was Project MineE and researches have just announced that they have identified a new gene associated with the disease, which experts say could lead to new treatment possibilities.
'It's very exciting because it shows everyone who contributed to the ice bucket challenge that their donation had an impact on the research,' said Brian Frederick, executive vice-president of communications and development at the ALS Association. Hurrah!
And since we are feeling #SPREADJOY here are some more of our favourite ice bucket challengers:
![los angeles, california april 16 zendaya arrives at the los angeles premiere of amazon mgm studios challengers at westwood village theater on april 16, 2024 in los angeles, california photo by steve granitzfilmmagic](https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod/images/zendaya-euphoria-return-6620d0645de97.jpg?crop=1.00xw:0.784xh;0,0.0402xh&resize=360:* "Los Angeles Premiere Of Amazon MGM Studios "Challengers" - Arrivals")
