14-year-old Invents Soap For Cancer Treatment, Wins US Young Scientist Award

Published

3 years ago

October 28, 2023

A middle school teen, Heman Bekele, has been named “America’s top young scientist” after inventing a bar of soap that cures melanoma, a skin cancer.

Melanoma, the most dangerous type of skin cancer, is diagnosed in about 100,000 people in the United States each year which has killed approximately 8,000.

Bekele, a 14-year-old ninth grade from Annandale, Virginia, won the award after beating out nine other contestants.

He won $25,000 in 3M’s 2023 Young Scientist Challenge, for inventing a bar of soap that could be used to treat skin cancer, USA Today revealed.

With the prize funds, Bekele said he hoped to move his soap through the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval process.

He said he wished to introduce his product to the market as an affordable treatment for a disease that kills nearly 8,000 Americans a year.

“Curing cancer, one bar of soap at a time. I have always been interested in biology and technology, and this challenge gave me the perfect platform to showcase my ideas,” he said.

He disclosed that he has ambitions to expand his work in the nonprofit space in order to help as many people as possible.

The teenager also said he looks forward to moving from just focusing on cancer to topics like DNA and electrical engineering.

“I’m looking for new fields to start learning more about because I’ve almost checked off oncology on my list,” he said.

Revealing his idea, the soap was made from compounds that could reactivate dendritic cells that guard human skin, enabling them to fight cancer cells.

Indian Court Denies Bail To Nigerian Man Over Drug Charges

Published

4 hours ago

May 28, 2026

Editor

A court in India has denied bail to a 44-year-old Nigerian national, Cristian Soporuchukwu, who is currently facing drug trafficking charges in the country.

Cristian Soporuchukwu initially entered India on a business visa but was later arrested over allegations of involvement in the sale of hard drugs.

Reports indicated that after arriving in India, Soporuchukwu travelled through Goa, Delhi, and Mumbai, where he allegedly established links with suspected drug traffickers.

He was accused of purchasing MDMA crystals and distributing them to college students and information technology workers.

According to reports, operatives of the Beguru Police arrested Cristian Soporuchukwu in April 2025 for allegedly selling MDMA crystals around Begur Lake and the AECS Layout Road area.

The New Indian Express reported that the High Court of Karnataka subsequently dismissed the Nigerian’s bail application.

“The anti-narcotics wing seized about 1 kg of MDMA crystals, a pocket weighing machine, 10 zip-lock covers, a mobile phone and a scooter from him,” the report stated.

Justice V. Srishananda, while ruling on the bail application, reportedly held that errors relating to the grounds of arrest could not automatically justify bail in serious narcotics-related offences under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, NDPS, Act.

The court further noted that Cristian Soporuchukwu had allegedly overstayed his visa in India, according to the report.

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Strait Of Hormuz: US Announces Sanctions Against Iran

Published

4 hours ago

May 28, 2026

Editor

The United States Treasury has announced sanctions against Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority.

Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, said this in a statement on Wednesday.

The statement extended the threat of sanctions to anyone paying the fees, saying they may be providing support to and receiving services from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, and therefore may be exposed to sanctions risk.

“The Iranian military’s latest attempt to extort global maritime trade is proof that Economic Fury has left the regime desperate for cash.

“Treasury has deprived the Iranian regime of revenue for their weapons programs, terrorist proxies, and nuclear ambitions,” Bessent said.

Bessent added that the US has succeeded in disrupting tens of billions of dollars’ worth of revenue from being accessible to Tehran.

Headline

US Launches New Airstrikes On Iran

Published

4 hours ago

May 28, 2026

Editor

The United States has launched new airstrikes in southern Iran.

The strike shot down four one-way attack drones that posed a threat around the Strait of Hormuz and then a ground control site.

A US official revealed that American forces struck an Iranian ground control station in Bandar Abbas that was about to launch a fifth drone.

The official described the strikes as purely defensive, saying the US intended to maintain the ceasefire.

Report says this is the second time in three days that the US has carried out self-defense strikes against Iranian military targets in southern Iran.

Recall that on Monday the US carried out airstrikes against Iranian missile locations and boats that US Central Command said were preparing to launch mines in the Strait of Hormuz.