By Cody Lo

Cody is an undergraduate pharmacology student at UBC. He enjoys discussing issues pertaining to global health, staying active, and trying new types of food (although not necessarily in that order).

FEARBOLA AND THE ALS ICE BUCKET CHALLENGE: HOW SOCIAL MEDIA IMPACTS GLOBAL HEALTH AND SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

The emergence of social media has drastically changed how people share and receive information. It has also altered how we learn about current events; keep in touch with family and even how we make healthcare decisions. In recent times, social media has also been seen to have a profound impact on global health and scientific research. In 2014, the third and fifth most searched for trending terms on google globally were “ebola” and the “ALS ice bucket challenge” respectively. Both of these events brought science into the spotlight and much of their exposure can be attributed to tremendous discussion over…