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.
-
Are AI lovers replacing humans?
Talking Points A third of Gen Z singles use tech as a 'romantic companion'
-
What are the Trump Accounts for kids and how do they work?
The Explainer Parents will soon be able to open tax-advantaged investment accounts on their child's behalf
-
'This comes with policy implications'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
US and Japan strike trade deal
Speed Read Trump signed what he's calling the 'largest deal ever made'
-
28 nations condemn Israel's 'inhumane killing' in Gaza
Speed Read Countries including Australia, France, Japan and the U.K. have released a joint statement condemning Israel's ongoing attacks
-
Israeli gunfire kills dozens at Gaza aid site
Speed Read The U.N. estimates that at least 875 Palestinians have died while trying to access food in recent months
-
Rubio says US brokered end to Syria conflict
Speed Read Syria's defense ministry was targeted in Israeli attacks on the capital
-
Trump threatens Russia with 'severe tariffs'
speed read The president also agreed to sell NATO advanced arms for Ukraine
-
IDF blames 'error' for strike on Gaza water line
Speed Read Israeli forces attack Palestinians, including children, collecting water in central Gaza
-
Iran still has enriched uranium, Israeli official says
Speed Read It remains unclear how long it would take Iran to rebuild its nuclear program following US and Israeli attacks
-
Trump U-turns on weapons to Ukraine
Speed Read Unhappy with Putin, Trump decides the US will go back to arming Ukraine against Russia's attacks