One year ago, the Ice Bucket Challenge was in full swing. More than 17 million people, including Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Eli Manning, and Oprah Winfrey agreed to have freezing water dumped on their heads to raise money for the killer disease.

While President Obama and Hillary Clinton declined to participate, former president George Bush and presidential candidates Bobby Jindal and Chris Christie were doused with ice water. In all, more than $220 million was raised.

ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) or Lou Gehrig's disease is a neurodegenerative disease that weakens muscles, causing difficulty in speaking, walking, swallowing, and breathing. As many as 30,000 Americans suffer from ALS. There is no cure, and average survival rate is about four years.

At the time, some critics launched accusations that it was a convenient way for people to look as though they were making a difference while achieving nothing. But scientists at Johns Hopkins have announced a major breakthrough and give the Ice Bucket Challenge partial credit for their success.

"Without it, we wouldn't have been able to come out with the studies as quickly as we did," Philip Wong, a professor at Johns Hopkins who led the research team, told the Washington Post. "The funding from the ice bucket is just a component of the whole — in part, it facilitated our effort."

The breakthrough study identified the function of a protein related to ALS called TDP-43. Most cases of ALS are characterized by accumulation of TDP-43 into clumps, which indicates the protein can no longer function normally.

The study found that a vital function of TDP-43 is to bind to and repress the expression of cryptic exons, small amounts of genetic instruction that are not normally used to make protein. But a loss of TDP-43 increased the amount of cryptic exons, which caused a cascade of events that led to cell death. Researchers also found an abnormal increase in cryptic exon in the brains of people with ALS.

"This intriguing result provides a new understanding of the normal role of TDP-43," said ALS Association Chief Scientist Lucie Bruijn. "Because TDP-43 accumulates in most cases of ALS, it is critical that we learn more about its normal functions, and how they are affected in ALS. Replacing those lost functions may be a therapeutic strategy."

"We hope this will be the first of many research discoveries fueled by people’s participation in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge,” said Barb Newhouse, President and CEO of The ALS Association. “Progress is being made when it comes to finding treatments and a cure for this disease."

Round 2 of the Ice Bucket Challenge began the first of August. "We're so grateful for the support this August and every August until there's a cure," said Newhouse.