From the outside, research can seem like an endless process. As much as we all yearn for the “AH HA!” moment of discovery, more often than not the gains from any sort of research are incremental. Not so much finding a needle in a haystack as a slow, methodical, documented labeling of this piece of hay, then this piece, then this piece….As Thomas Edison said about the process of researching and creating the lightbulb: “I have not failed 10,000 times. I have not failed once. I have succeeded in proving that those 10,000 ways will not work. When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will work.”
ALS research has proven to be just such a challenge to the best minds in the medical and scientific communities. But recent advances are creating excitement about new ideas and opportunities, aided in no small part by the influx of funding created by the Ice Bucket Challenge. With all that is going on, we wanted to take a moment to look at what is happening in ALS research—to see what is new, what is promising, and what the future may hold.
Continue reading ALS Research—The Pace of Discover Is on the Rise