Heman Bekele, a 14-year-old boy from Virginia, USA, has been crowned America’s Top Young Scientist.
Bekele, who is in the ninth grade [JSS3] at W.T. Woodson High School in Annandale, competed against nine other finalists in the 2023 3M Young Scientists Challenge and won the $25,000 grand prize.
His invention is a bar of soap that contains three natural ingredients that can activate the body’s own immune system to fight skin cancer.
According to Mail Online, the soap works by stimulating dendritic cells, which are responsible for detecting and destroying abnormal cells in the skin.
Bekele was inspired by his own experience of losing his grandfather to skin cancer. He learned that skin cancer is one of the most common and deadly forms of cancer, especially in developing countries where people lack access to affordable and effective treatments.
He decided to create a solution that would be cheap, easy to use, and widely available.
He researched various ingredients that have anti-cancer properties and found three that worked well together: curcumin, ginger, and honey.
He then experimented with different ways of infusing these ingredients into a soap base and tested the effectiveness of his product on simulated skin cells.
He found that his soap could reactivate dendritic cells and trigger an immune response against cancer cells.
He also calculated that each bar of his soap would cost only $0.50 to make, compared to the more than $40,000 needed for conventional medical treatments.
Bekele hopes to further develop his invention and distribute it to communities in need through a nonprofit organization. He believes that his soap could save millions of lives from skin cancer.
“Skin cancer is a preventable disease,” Bekele said. “But many people don’t have the resources or the awareness to protect themselves. I want to change that with my soap.”
Bekele’s invention is not only innovative, but also compassionate.
He is an example of how young scientists can use their creativity and curiosity to make a positive difference in the world.
