US student, 14, wins award for developing soap to treat skin cancer

Heman Bekele, a 14-year-old ninth grader from Annandale, Virginia, won the award after beating out nine other finalists. “Curing cancer, one bar of soap at a time,” he said in his submission. He pitched his idea for a soap – the “skin cancer treating soap” – made from compounds that could reactivate dendritic cells that guard human skin, enabling them to fight cancer cells. According to American Cancer Society (ACA), skin cancer is the most common of all cancers, with melanoma accounting for only 1% but causing the majority of skin cancer deaths. after newsletter promotionAfter winning the award, Bekele told the judging panel he hoped to turn the soap into a “symbol of hope, accessibility and a world where skin cancer treatment is within reach for all”.