14-Year-Old Develops Cancer-Fighting Soap

Tuesday - October 31 2023, 21:19 UTC - 1 year ago

14-year-old student Heman Bekele created a soap called Melanoma Treating Soap (MTS) to treat skin cancer with cancer-fighting chemicals. He was motivated to create an affordable and accessible solution for skin cancer treatment globally, as he witnessed the high costs of skin cancer treatment globally. He won the top prize in the 3M Young Scientist’s Challenge this year, and hopes to use the prize money to continue his research within the field of STEM.

As child prodigies emerge in the world of innovation at younger ages than ever before, a 14-year-old student named Heman Bekele, residing in Fairfax, Virginia, developed a soap called MTS (Melanoma Treating Soap) to treat skin cancer. Bekele’s efforts earned him the top prize in the 3M Young Scientist's Challenge this year, a competition that motivates children to devise innovative solutions for common issues.

The Melanoma Treating Soap (MTS) was created using cancer-fighting chemicals, mainly Imidazoquinoline, integrated with a nanolipid-based particle transporter. The inspiration behind the soap came from Bekele's childhood experiences in Ethiopia before moving to the United States at the age of 4; he told NPR. There, he observed the prevalence of skin cancer, especially among individuals working outdoors.

Bekele told NPR: "Growing up in Ethiopia, I always thought people were always getting hit by the hot sun working outside. I didn't think much of it when I was really little, but as I grew up I realized how big of an issue [skin cancer] really is. Not only in Ethiopia but everywhere around the world." .

Witnessing the high costs of skin cancer treatment globally, Bekele was motivated to create an affordable and accessible solution.

Bekele principally employed digital molecular testing, a process involving experimenting with different ingredients and their combinations in a computer model. The data assessed the effectiveness of the effectiveness of the combination. While he achieved promising results through digital testing, the soap has not yet undergone human testing due to the absence of FDA certification.

The soap aims to deliver cancer-fighting drugs via lipid nanoparticles, which activate the body's immune cells to combat cancer. The young creator shared, "The average price of skin cancer treatment globally is almost $40,000. When I heard those shocking statistics, it inspired me to create a more affordable and accessible solution. I started doing experiments and working on different things, and then that turned into my bar of soap as a project." .

Further, the student noted that his research and development began in the family kitchen and the basement of his house, emphasizing that he wasn’t performing "any serious nonparticle generation or anything like that." However, he was working on the saponification [soap-making] process. The entire process required an emulsifier, some bases, and a couple of chemicals. "So I was able to do that all relatively safely and efficiently just from my house." .

Bekele moved his research from the house when he sought help from the University of Virginia and Georgetown.

The young prodigy hopes to utilize the prize money to continue his research within the field of STEM. He stated: .

"I still do need a lot of resources to be able to conduct this research, so this money will definitely help me with a lot of those goals. And then, of course, I'll save a bit of it for college as well." .