Heman Bekele, a 14-year-old boy from the United States, studying at Fairfax County's Frost Middle School, has invented a soap that could help fight skin cancer. He has been named America's Top Young Scientist after competing with nine other people in the 2023 3M Young Scientists Challenge. He also won the $25,000 grand prize, as per a report in the Washington Post.
According to the ninth grader, the soap, which would cost less than $10, would contain ingredients that might reactivate skin-protecting cells, giving them the ability to combat cancer cells. "To see that all of the hard work paid off in the end, it was really a surreal experience," Heman told the outlet.
He said that the idea came when he was living in Ethiopia where he saw people constantly working and exposed to the sun. Although he didn't pay attention to it, when the competition dates neared, he recalled his time there and decided to focus his research on skin cancer. He said, "I wanted to make my idea something that not only was great in terms of science but also could be accessible to as many people as possible." Heman added that he wanted his product to be as much of a "constant" in people's lives as possible and therefore it needed to be "most convenient and most trustworthy.
The boy, after being selected in the top 10 category, was paired with a mentor Deborah Isabelle, who is a 3M product engineering specialist. She said that the teenager "focused on making the world a better place for people he hasn't necessarily even met yet" and could see his passion in their first meeting.
Several months of experimentation were required to develop a prototype that had a blend of compounds that would be functional. Heman worked out the formula for the soap prototype he was going to present at the championship using computer modelling. The soap, which is named Skin Cancer Treating Soap, works by "using a compound that helps revive dendritic cells, which are killed by cancer cells. Once the dendritic cells are revived, they are able to then fight against the cancer cells". As per Isabelle, this "reactivates the body's healing power" and reminds the body "how to defend itself".
Heman notes that although there are several creams in the market, a soap for treating cancer has never been used. He told the panel in the presentation that he told the panel he wishes to turn the soap into a "symbol of hope, accessibility and a world where skin cancer treatment is within reach for all."