this post was submitted on 29 Oct 2023
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Heman Bekele was inspired by Ethiopian workers laboring under the sun, and wanted to help ‘as many people as possible’

A middle-school teen has been named “America’s top young scientist” after developing a bar of soap that could be useful in the treatment of melanoma, a skin cancer that is diagnosed in about 100,000 people in the US each year and kills approximately 8,000.

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[–] MicroWave@lemmy.world 99 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

Looks like it does from another article:

Heman’s mentor, 3M product engineering specialist Deborah Isabelle, said she could see the teen’s energy and passion for the project from their first meeting. She described Heman as “focused on making the world a better place for people he hasn’t necessarily even met yet.”

The soap, called Skin Cancer Treating Soap (SCTS), 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. In essence, it reactivates the body’s healing power, Isabelle said.

Similar creams and ointments exist, Heman said, but he doesn’t believe soap has ever been used to fight against skin cancers in their early stages.

He has a five-year plan, which includes seeking approval from the Food and Drug Administration. Isabelle has already connected him with other scientists who specialize in medical products to help him move forward with his plans.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/10/25/heman-bekele-skin-cancer-soap/

[–] jasory@programming.dev 70 points 1 year ago (6 children)

Whenever you read "X-year old does something", it's usually already been done or a slight modification of something already been done.

[–] RedditWanderer@lemmy.world 44 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Don't underestimate our ability to miss the obvious. You're talking about the race that over 3000 or so years, forgot scurvy was cured by vitamin C over 10 times.

They also used to shape steel wire by pulling it really hard through a kinda steel funnel. This works because the tensile strength of steel is much higher than its yield strength, so you can pull on it with more force than it takes to shape it, without it snapping.

Back in the day, we figured out corrosion helped make the steel slippery when it went through the shaping tool. We though it was because some dudes pissed on the steel, so for a while after people pissed on their steel. Until people started figuring out beer worked just as well, and then half beer half water.

Until they finally realized water worked just as well to create corrosion. It took a couple hundred years.

Sometimes it just takes someone to think about it and do it. At 14 that's incredible, kids aren't that selfless at that age.

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 33 points 1 year ago (1 children)

At 14 that’s incredible

It's incredible to have the opportunity to mentor with a senior research analyst at 3M.

Wish more kids were given this kind of opportunity without going six figures into debt

[–] MonkCanatella@sh.itjust.works 4 points 1 year ago

I think both of your statements are correct - lots of innovations are right in front of us, are simple, and that's the kinda shit scientists love. More kids, but really people of any age, should be given opportunities like this given passion or even a passing curiosity.

[–] rustydrd@sh.itjust.works 11 points 1 year ago

Even if the active ingredients are already known, developing a new mode of application for an existing drug is an enormous accomplishment for a student his age. Plus, the alternative (minors doing experiments with unapproved drugs) is likely illegal, so there's only so much they could do.

[–] grabyourmotherskeys@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

When I was 14, I was not helping to cure cancer. My science fair project was about salt raising the boiling point of water. :) I'll give him props but you're right.

[–] garbagebagel@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Were your tests conclusive?

I did mine on whether brown eggs would boil faster than white.

I did conclude the boiling point was raised. I was up for a Nobel prize in chemistry but was excluded because of my political leanings.

[–] Malfeasant@lemm.ee 1 points 1 year ago

Whenever anyone does anything, that's usually the case...

[–] _number8_@lemmy.world 32 points 1 year ago (3 children)

He has a five-year plan

this is one of those business buzzwords that makes my skin crawl

[–] WoahWoah@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yes, a timeline and plan for reaching a goal. So buzzy.

[–] ThePantser@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago

There's a cream for that