Young teen wins top science prize for soap that can treat skin cancer
Memory of Ethiopian workers out in the sun inspired US schoolboy to make cell-reviving soap

A 14-year-old boy has been named "America's top young scientist" after developing a bar of soap that could help treat melanoma.
Heman Bekele, a ninth-grader from Virginia, won the 3M Young Scientist Challenge after pitching a bar of soap, called Skin Cancer Treating Soap (SCTS), made from compounds that could "reactivate dendritic cells that guard human skin", said The Guardian. This means they can fight cancer cells. He declared in his submission that he wanted to cure cancer "one bar of soap at a time".
Bekele moved to the US at the age of four, and his idea "came from the early years of his life in Ethiopia", said The Washington Post. He wondered how many people he'd seen working outside were "at risk of sun exposure" and his memories "fueled his decision to focus his research on skin cancer".
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Bekele is a self-taught programmer, according to Wion, and he describes himself as "passionate about medicine, programming and making an impact".
He wanted his product to be something that was "as much of a constant in people's lives as possible" and was "most convenient and most trustworthy", he said. Creating a prototype with a combination of ingredients that could work effectively "took months of trial and error", and Bekele used "computer modeling to determine the formula". Although "similar creams and ointments exist", he doesn't believe soap has been used to fight cancers in their early stages, The Washington Post added.
Bekele hopes he can use the $25,000 prize to "refine his innovation", which costs $0.50 (40p) to make, and create a non-profit organisation "to distribute the soap to communities in need" in the next five years, said USA Today. This plan includes seeking approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), said The Washington Post. Bekele added: "There is still a lot left to do."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Keumars Afifi-Sabet is a freelance writer at The Week Digital, and is the technology editor on Live Science, another Future Publishing brand. He was previously features editor with ITPro, where he commissioned and published in-depth articles around a variety of areas including AI, cloud computing and cybersecurity. As a writer, he specialises in technology and current affairs. In addition to The Week Digital, he contributes to Computeractive and TechRadar, among other publications.
-
Ukraine scrambles as Trump cuts weapons deliveries
Speed Read The halting of weapons shipments was driven by Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby, a Ukraine funding skeptic
-
IAEA: Iran could enrich uranium 'within months'
Speed Read The chief United Nations nuclear inspector, Rafael Grossi, says Iran could be enriching uranium again soon
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?
today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
Iran nukes program set back months, early intel suggests
Speed Read A Pentagon assessment says US bombing of Iranian nuclear sites only set the program back by months, not years. This contradicts President Donald Trump's claim.
-
Trump says Iran and Israel agreed to ceasefire
Speed Read This followed a night of Israeli airstrikes on Tehran and multiple waves of missiles fired by Iran
-
Israel strikes Iran, killing military and nuclear chiefs
Speed Read Israeli officials said the attack was a 'preemptive' strike on Iran's nuclear program
-
Israel deports Thunberg after seizing Gaza aid boat
speed read The Swedish activist was delivering food and medical aid to Palestine, highlighting the growing humanitarian crisis there
-
Colombian senator shot on streets of Bogotá
speed read Miguel Uribe Turbay, who has announced his candidacy for next year's presidential election, was shot at a rally