A 14-year-old Virginia boy has been named "America's Top Young Scientist" after making a soap bar designed to treat skin cancer.
According to Fox 5, Heman Bekele, a student at Frost Middle School, earned the title after winning the 2023 3M Young Scientist Challenge, a competition where middle schoolers across the nation submit a video communicating a scientific solution for an everyday problem.
"It's so crazy, it's so surreal to even think about it right now!" he told FOX 5.
Bekele said it took him eight months to create the idea, a basic prototype, and finish the video for his cancer-treating soap.
"The most difficult part was probably creating that first prototype," Bekele said, noting that the best part was seeing his idea come to life and submitting it for the competition.
Bekele said his soap has cancer-fighting chemicals that treat the skin. The 14-year-old hopes to start a non-profit organization to provide equitable and accessible treatment to as many people as possible.
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