A CRAZE that swept the world two years ago has led to a scientific breakthrough that could change the lives of thousands of people.

Millions of people around the world doused themselves with cold water as they took part in the ice bucket challenge in the summer of 2014.

The campaign was started to raise awareness and money for research into ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a form of motor neurone disease.

People were encouraged to film themselves in the act, then nominate three friends to do the same within 24 hours.

Dozens of celebrities joined in the craze, including tech billionaire Bill Gates, Vogue editor Anna Wintour and footballing hero David Beckham.

In Barrow leading figures of the community were also drenched in the name of charity.

Hairy Biker Dave Myers, Barrow MP John Woodcock and the managing director of Furness Newspapers, Jonathan Lee, got involved.

However, there was criticism levelled at the campaign for being nothing more than a vanity bandwagon that millions jumped on.

It was branded as another type of "slacktivism", where people only click, like and share rather than make an actual contribution.

The failed attempt to bring African warlord Joseph Kony to justice in 2012 was a prime example of this.

However, thanks to the tens of millions of dollars raised thanks to the ALS challenge, researchers have been able to identify a new gene associated with the disease.

The Project MinE study, which produced the discovery, was funded by US charity the ALS Association using money from the ice bucket challenge.

More than 80 scientists from 11 countries identified NEK1 after searching for ALS risk genes in more than 1,000 affected families and 13,000 individuals with the "sporadic" form of the disease. Their results were published in the journal, Nature Genetics.

Dr John Landers, from the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, US, who co-led the study, said: "Global collaboration among scientists, which was really made possible by ALS Ice Bucket Challenge donations, led to this important discovery.

"It is a prime example of the success that can come from the combined efforts of so many people, all dedicated to finding the causes of ALS. This kind of collaborative study is, more and more, where the field is headed."

Project MinE was the brainchild of entrepreneur and Dutch ALS patient Bernard Muller. He said: "The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge enabled us to secure funding from new sources in new parts of the world. I'm incredibly pleased with the discovery of the NEK1 gene adding another step towards our ultimate goal, eradicating this disease from the face of the earth."