Sometimes it’s the simplest invention that can save lives.

So when 3M and Discovery Education were looking for the winner of their middle school science competition one teenager was the clear choice.

And his invention – a bar of soap.

“I believe that young minds can make a positive impact on the world,” said Heman Bekele, a 14-year-old ninth grader from Annandale, Virginia, in his submission for the competition.

The title of “America’s Top Young Scientist” is awarded to a student that creates an innovative idea that can change the world.

Bekele said he spent the past four months competing to be named winner. 

He developed a compound-based bar of soap designed to treat melanoma. The bar of soap costs about $.50 to make.

Bekele made a cancer-fighting soap to help treat skin cancer. Photo by Fairfax County Public Schools

According to 3M and Discovery Education, Bekele hopes to refine his innovation and create a non-profit organization to distribute the soap to communities in need over the next five years.

I have always been interested in biology and technology, and this challenge gave me the perfect platform to showcase my ideas,” he said.

In addition to the title, the winner also receives a $25,000 cash prize.

Bekele created a compound-based bar of soap that is intended to treat melanoma, a skin cancer. The best part – each bar of soap only only costs $.50 to produce. Current medical treatments for the disease run more than $40,000.

Bekele said that people in developing countries have a higher rate of skin cancer. 

“I was devastated by the idea of people choosing between treatment and putting food on the table for their families. There are so many preventable deaths,” he said.

When researching skin cancer, Bekele said he learned about dendritic cells, which boost the immune response and protects a person’s skin.

In his video submission, he explained that the three ingredients in the soap are salicylic acid, glycolic acid and tretinoin which together break down the skin’s outer layers.

This, Bekele said, allows proteins that play a role in the immune system to then latch onto those dendritic cells, reactivating them and allowing them to join white blood cells and fight the cancer-infected cells.

Bekele said the skin cancer-treating soap (SCTS) can be applied to the skin every few days after a prescription is given.

The teenager said he will put the prize money toward college, as well as securing a patent for his invention.

He hopes to one day be an electrical engineer.

I envision myself leading a team of professionals in the development of innovative electrical systems that will shape the future of technology,” Bekele said.

His goal, he said, is to spend his life helping others.

“Ultimately, in 15 years, I hope to have positively impacted the world through my work and personal endeavors.”

Watch the interview with this brilliant young man, below.

Sources: USA Today | Daily Mail