15-year-old scientist who created soap that could treat skin cancer named Time Magazine’s 2024 Kid of the Year

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Heman Bekele, a teen from Fairfax, Virginia, is being recognized for developing an affordable bar of soap that could treat multiple forms of skin cancers, including melanoma.

Last October, he won Young Scientist Challenge and won $25,000 for inventing the soap.

Bekele, 15, was chosen as Time magazine and Time for Kids 2024 Kid of the Year.

About melanoma

Melanoma is the most invasive type of skin cancer with the highest risk of death, according to Cleveland Clinic. However, it is highly curable, if caught early.

“It’s absolutely incredible to think that one day, my bar of soap will be able to make a direct impact on somebody else’s life,” the 15-year-old told Time. “That’s the reason I started this all in the first place.”

Heman Bekele’s love for science started at an early age

He conducted his first science experiment when he was just 4 years old, mixing together any household products he could get his hands on and seeing what would happen.

“They were just dish soap, laundry detergent, and common household chemicals,” he says today of the ingredients he’d use. “I would hide them under my bed and see what would happen if I left them overnight. There was a lot of mixing together completely at random.”

He then advanced to a chemistry set when he was 6. A few years ago, he decided to tackle skin cancer.

Born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia before emigrating to the U.S. with his family when he was 4, Bekele remembered seeing laborers work under the intense heat without heat protection which elevated his curiosity, according to Time. After migrating to the U.S., the young scientist said he realized what a “big problem the sun and ultraviolet radiation is when you’re exposed to it for a long time.” It didn’t take too long for him to start thinking about how he might help.

Balancing life

The prodigy isn’t all science maintaining a balance of fun in his life being a part of the Woodson High School marching band, playing the flute and trombone while also playing basketball, reading fantasy books, and playing chess.

Congratulations Heman!