--- title: Ice Bucket Challenge Money Funds ALS Advances, Researchers Say description: The Ice Bucket Challenge raised more than $100 million to fight ALS. Now, scientists say the money has begun paying research dividends. canonical: https://time.com/4003005/ice-bucket-challenge-als-research/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-08-19T14:51:18.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T10:16:52.970Z article:section: Health og:title: Ice Bucket Challenge Money Has Boosted ALS Research, Scientists Say og:description: The Ice Bucket Challenge raised more than $100 million for ALS research og:url: https://time.com/4003005/ice-bucket-challenge-als-research/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Ice Bucket Challenge Money Has Boosted ALS Research, Scientists Say twitter:description: The Ice Bucket Challenge raised more than $100 million for ALS research twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Ice Bucket Challenge Money Has Boosted ALS Research, Scientists Say > Sponsored content. 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Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators.  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Aug 19, 2015 2:51 PM UTC  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Aug 19, 2015 2:51 PM UTC The [Ice Bucket Challenge](http://www.alsa.org/fight-als/ice-bucket-challenge.html) raised more than $100 million for research and treatment of ALS. Now, scientists say that the money has already begun paying dividends for research into the devastating disease. A [study](http://www.sciencemag.org/content/349/6248/650.abstract) published last week in the journal _Science_ explains the problems in a dysfunctional protein in ALS patients, a mystery that researchers have been studying for decades. Johns Hopkins researchers received funding for the study from the ALS Association, a key recipient of Ice Bucket Challenge money. The research, which was conducted in mice, needs to be expanded upon before it can be applied. “With any luck this could lead to possibly a cure or really just slowing down this terrible disease,” said study author Jonathan Ling, a Johns Hopkins researcher, [in a YouTube video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ea4l%5FWo-vcA) explaining the research. The Johns Hopkins research is one of many ALS projects funded with the help of the Ice Bucket Challenge money. The ALS Association has announced new breakthroughs, as well as $11 million in new grants, at a rapid clip in recent months. ALS is a neurodegenerative disorder that diminishes a person’s normal operation of muscles, speaking and other functions. Most people die within a few years of being diagnosed with the disease. 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