A 14-year-old makes a melanoma treating soap. It is by a student from Annandale, Virginia, and he won the 3M Young Scientist Entry Challenge for his entry.
Heman Bekele is a 9th grader at W.T. Woodson High School in Annandale. He competed against nine other scientists to win the title of “America’s Top Young Scientist.” The children of the school were paired with scientific mentors. They helped them develop their concept into a prototype, and this was done before they were judged in the challenges. Moreover, all this also included a presentation of their invention.
Bekele won for his soap that treats melanoma (Melanoma Treating Soap), which is the most common type of cancer in the United States.
Bekele explained,
I made this soap by fusing regular medicinal soap with a 50/30/20 ratio of salicylic acid, glycolic acid, and tretinoin, which are all keratolytic agents that slowly reactivate dendritic cells,
After MTS is used the soap releases toll-like receptors into your skin. These receptors latch onto dendritic cells which reactivate them. The now reactivated dendritic cells then join with TN io12 cells to fight infected HPV cells.
He added,
I applied for the 3M Young Scientist Challenge because I believe that young minds can make a positive impact on the world,
I have always been interested in biology and technology, and this challenge gave me the perfect platform to showcase my ideas.
