Teen Invents Cancer-Treating Soap, Gets Time Mag Honour.

Teen creates soap with skin cancer-fighting potential, named Time's Kid of the Year

Heman Bekele, a 15-year-old from Annandale, Virginia, has been named Time's Kid of the Year for 2024. Bekele created a soap with the potential to deliver medication for treating skin cancers, including melanoma. "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," Bekele told Time. "That’s the reason I started this in the first place.”

In 2023, 3M and Discovery Education named Bekele America’s Top Young Scientist and he also received a $25,000 cash prize.

Time also announced five honorees for their achievements:

• Shanya Gill, 13, from San Jose, California, invented a device to alert residents of potential fires caused by unattended cooking.
• Madhvi Chittoor, 12, from Arvada, Colorado, an advocate for raising awareness of "forever chemicals" or PFAs, which can lead to negative health effects. She testified at the state Capitol and corresponded with Gov. Jared Polis on the issue.
• Jordan Sucato, 15, from Phoenix, founded a nonprofit, Laws for Paws LLC, to protect the paws of dogs belonging to unhoused people from extreme heat. The organization has raised $7,000 and provided boots to 515 dogs.
• Keivonn Woodard, 11, from Bowie, Maryland, is a deaf actor who has been nominated for an Emmy for his role in HBO's The Last of Us. He aims to continue representing the Deaf community.
• Dom Pecora, 15, from Malvern, Pennsylvania, opened a bike store to raise money for a mountain bike, ultimately raising enough to buy bikes for six other kids. His nonprofit has given away 121 bikes to date.