High Schooler Makes Cystic Fibrosis Breakthrough 29.52K Remy Stern 05/11/11 10:12PM Filed to: Science Science Republished Cystic fibrosis is a hereditary disease that causes excessive buildup of thick mucus in the lungs and digestive track. Marshall Zhang is an 11th grader from Ottawa who may have just cured it. [Gizmodo]