Ice Bucket Challenge inspiration Pete Frates dead at 34 after bout with ALS
Pete Frates, whose personal battle with the neurodegenerative disease ALS inspired the Ice Bucket Challenge campaign that raised millions of dollars for medical research, died on Monday aged 34, seven years after his diagnosis, Boston College said. The former BC baseball captain, who was named ...
Japanese software lets cancer and ALS patients get their voices back
Sapporo radio personality Kazuya Yonezawa takes to the airwaves once a month, speaking to his listeners in a calm and low voice. But the 60-year-old's words aren't coming from his vocal cords. They are being reconstructed by a speech synthesis software called Voistar. Yonezawa has amyotrophic ...
Wheelchair-accessible tour in Kamakura aims to revolutionize tourism for people with disabilities
The owner of a barrier-free guesthouse in Kamakura is prepping a tour that will allow people with disabilities to travel to sightseeing spots that would have previously been virtually impossible to visit.
From the DJ booth, man with ALS taps into tech to brighten future for all
Masatane Muto slowly maneuvers the controller on his power wheelchair with his right hand to move around his Tokyo office. He can barely move his body on his own and needs the help of a colleague to take occasional sips from the straw in his ...
Notes by Japanese farmer with ALS on the joy of life now a book
Notes left by a farmer who lived for 33 years with the muscle-wasting disease known as ALS have been compiled into a book, giving voice to the personal experience of someone living with the affliction. Shigeru Matsumoto, a former head of the Japan Amyotrophic Lateral ...
Man with ALS prevented from testifying on disability bill demands Diet rethink its habits
A man with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis says the Diet needs to work harder on accommodating people with disabilities after he was prevented from appearing as a committee witness last week.
U.S. ice bucket challenge picked up by Japan's movers and shakers
A U.S.-based social media challenge daring people to douse themselves with buckets of ice water spreads to Japan, with celebrities from billionaire Masayoshi Son to singer Ayumi Hamasaki taking up the gauntlet to boost awareness of what is known as Lou Gehrig's disease.
[View the story "ALS Ice Bucket Challenge spreads to Japan" on Storify]
Researchers say they can prolong the lives of mice with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis by about 10 days, a finding that could lead to treating the neurodegenerative disorder in humans. Ten days of life for mice could be equivalent to up to half a year in ...
Phrase archive restores lost voices
Volunteers are reading out random lines of text to help people with Lou Gehrig's disease communicate in synthesized voices that sound more similar to theirs.
