ice bucket challenge

  • What is ALS, the neurological disease that actor and playwright Sam Shepard died from?

    There is no known cure for ALS but the ice bucket challenge has lead to a research breakthrough

  • Ice Bucket Challenge Funds Breakthrough In ALS Research

    The discovery could help scientists develop new therapies.

  • Here's The Actual Impact All Those Buckets Of Ice Had On ALS Research

    Remember this time last year when everyone’s congresswoman, favorite singer and probably a distant cousin or 10 was dumping ice water on their heads in the name of ALS research and awareness? The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based ALS Therapy Development Institute, a nonprofit biotech focused entirely on ALS, is one group that received a sizable chunk of those funds. Other groups working to address ALS, which is also referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease, have also spoken to the impact #IceBucketChallenge funds have had on their efforts.

  • Ice Bucket Challenge: 6 Months, $115 Million Later

    By Meg Tirrell Last summer, neurology professor John Landers was stuck. His grant proposal for funding to sequence the genomes of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease, as part of a worldwide project to better

  • Share This ALS Ted Talk The Same Way You Shared Your Ice Bucket Challenge

    When Pete Frates, 29, was diagnosed with ALS two years ago, he set one goal. The former D-1 college baseball player declared he would get this little-talked about disease in front of major philanthropists, including Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

  • ALS Patient Says Support For His Ice Bucket Video That Broke The Internet Changed His Life

    It was a moment Anthony Carbajal will never forget: standing on the stage of one of TV’s most popular talk shows, fighting for a cause that touches him and his family profoundly. “It still feels like a dream,” Carbajal told The Huffington Post of appearing on Monday’s episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Carbajal, the young man with ALS whose viral ice bucket challenge video has touched the hearts of millions of people worldwide, had nominated Degeneres to take the challenge in his video.

  • Celebs Rally For Teen With Autism Who Was Doused With Feces In Cruel Ice Bucket Prank

    2:44 p.m. EST: Bay Village, Ohio, Police Chief Mark Spaetzel told CNN that suspects involved in the ice bucket prank have been identified. A rallying cry for justice has sparked support from Hollywood after one unsuspecting teen was the victim of an appalling act orchestrated by peers. Last week, Police Chief Mark Spaetzel of Bay Village, Ohio, said his team is looking into a "reprehensible" video of area teenagers dumping feces, urine and spit onto a 15-year-old who has autism, Cleveland.com reported.

  • Here's Yet Another Reason To Love Leonardo DiCaprio

    Celebrity ice bucket challenge videos have filled news feeds across America for weeks. Actors Leonardo DiCaprio and David Spade have donated more to the ALS Association than any other celebrities, according to the organization. ALSA confirmed to The Huffington Post that each star donated $100,000 to fight the neurodegenerative disease that affects about 30,000 Americans at any given time.

  • Man Who Made ALS Ice Bucket Challenge Go Viral Welcomes Newborn Baby

    Pete Frates -- a former college athlete with ALS -- is the man credited with making the ice bucket challenge go viral. Now, Frates has something else to celebrate as he is the father of a newborn baby girl. Frates' wife, Julie, gave birth to daughter, Lucy Fitzgerald Frates, on Sunday, according to CBS Boston.

  • ALS Association Withdraws Ice Bucket Challenge Trademark Applications Amid Backlash

    The ALS Association has withdrawn applications to trademark the terms "ice bucket challenge" and "ALS ice bucket challenge," after steps taken to claim legal rights to the phrases were met with controversy. If the association's applications had been accepted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the organization could have taken legal action against groups for using the phrases without permission, including on social media accounts, according to the Washington Post. As the ice bucket challenge originated weeks before its connection to the ALS Association, as Mashable pointed out, some were not pleased with the nonprofit's desire to claim ownership.

  • Massachusetts man who sparked ALS 'Ice Bucket Challenge' now a father

    BOSTON - Pete Frates, the man who inspired the "Ice Bucket Challenge" is now a father. Lucy Fitzgerald Frates was born to Julie Frates and Pete Frates Sunday morning. Pete Frates, a former Boston College baseball player who lives in

  • Even Some Humanitarian Hounds Are Getting In On The Ice Bucket Challenge

    The ALS ice bucket challenge has taken the world by storm as people have dumped buckets of ice over their heads for an important cause. An ice bucket challenge in which doggie treats come out of the bucket? By now, you're probably familiar with ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease, because of this viral challenge, but did you know that dogs can be affected by a similar condition?

  • WoW Moviewatch: Garrosh takes the Ice Bucket Challenge

    The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has taken the internet by storm over the last few weeks, but now it's making headway into virtual life, too, as Garrosh takes on the challenge. In case you've missed out (or been without internet for the past month), the premise is simple: when challenged, you dump a bucket of ice water on your head or donate to the ALS Association to help fight ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease). Sure, you could just donate, but making and sharing Ice Bucket Challenge videos is most of the fun. However, Garrosh clearly isn't taking this challenge seriously: "We are the Iron Horde and slightly icy water will never stop our might!" What Garrosh doesn't realize is that ice water is cold. Really cold. Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.

  • Supermarket Donates Ice Cube Sales To ALS, Challenges Competitors To Do The Same

    Thanks to the viral ice bucket challenge, in-demand cubes are flying out of freezers and one supermarket is using the surge to contribute to the cause. British supermarket giant Tesco is donating its profits from rocketing ice cube sales to the Motor Neurone Disease Association, a U.K. group that funds research and supports patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other forms of motor neurone disease. Tesco has already donated 20,000 British pounds (more than $33,000) and has challenged its competitors to do the same, according to a released statement.

  • More Ways To Challenge Friends And Support A Cause Without Pouring Ice Water On Yourself

    The ice bucket challenge fundraiser for ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, has already been a massive success despite some controversies. Most recently, actor Matt Damon dumped a bucket of toilet water over his head to point out the lack of clean water afforded to many developing nations as he promoted ALS awareness. Take a look at some of the other ice bucket challenge spinoffs below.

  • The Diseases We Donate To Aren't Always The Diseases That Kill Us

    A graphic created by Vox perfectly captures this discrepancy between the causes we donate money to and the diseases that kill us. "You'll notice that large fundraisers can have a pretty significant impact on raising money for causes -- and also that there are big gaps between the diseases that affect the most people and those that net the most money and attention," Julia Belluz wrote for the site.

  • The 'Ice Bucket Challenge' Has Raised $88.5 Million (And Counting) For ALS. Now What?

    Donations from the ubiquitous ice bucket challenge are still pouring in at an astounding rate and supporters want to know how their funds are going to be spent. As of Tuesday, the ALS Association (ALSA) -- which fights Lou Gehrig’s disease by funding research, supporting people with the condition and fostering government partnerships -- had collected $88.5 million over a matter of weeks this summer from the viral social media campaign. More and more celebrities (Matt Damon recently dumped toilet water on his head), politicians (George W. Bush tasked Bill Clinton to get involved) and everyday people who are just learning about the progressive neurodegenerative disease continue to take on the stunt -- which requires either pouring a bucket of ice over your head or making a donation.

  • Kids Take Ice Bucket Dumping To An Adorable New Level In ALS Challenge Videos

    Unless you've been living in social media isolation for the past couple of weeks, you've probably noticed an onslaught of ice bucket challenge videos that have helped to raise $79.7 million dollars for ALS research in under a month. HuffPost Parents blogger Jamie Denbo used this viral movement to talk to her kids about charity, what ALS is, and what the ice bucket challenge has to do with it all. She wrote, "I'm sure most of these conversations were less than three minutes long, but I feel like the activity around said conversations will help the sentiments stick in their little minds.

  • Gaza Supporters Tweak Ice Bucket Challenge, Use Rubble Instead

    The ice bucket challenge to raise awareness for ALS has gone viral, raising nearly $80 million and attracting participants from Steven Spielberg to George W. Bush). Instead of filling buckets with water — a scarcity in the Gaza Strip — people are dumping sand and rocks on their heads, in reference to the rubble of thousands of Gazan homes razed by Israeli airstrikes. Videos of the challenge aren’t meant to raise funds, but instead awareness of the living conditions for Palestinians in Gaza.

  • 'Rice Bucket Challenge' Reminds World How Scarce Clean Water Is In India

    Manju Latha Kalanidhi works as a reporter for Oryza, a niche publication devoted to rice. When she saw the social media craze known as the ice bucket challenge (which asks participants to raise funds and awareness for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease) taking off in India, where she lives, she immediately thought of the type of statistics she deals with routinely -- a quarter of all undernourished people worldwide live in India, and 103.8 million people there lack access to clean, safe water, according to Water.org. "I put one and one together," Kalanidhi told HuffPost in a phone call, explaining her new take on the social media phenomenon.