When Heman Bekele was 6, he got a chemistry set for Christmas. He used it to mix up “potions (魔水).” Back then, only his parents paid attention. Now, in 2024, at 15, Heman is used to a lot more people watching his work.
赫曼·贝克勒6岁时，圣诞节收到了一套化学用具。他用它来混合“药水”。当时，只有他的父母会注意到他。现在，在2024年，15岁的赫曼已经习惯了更多的人关注他的作品。
In October 2023, 3M and Discovery Education named Heman the winner of their Young Scientist Challenge. His prize: $25,000. His accomplishment: inventing a soap that could one day treat and prevent some forms of skin cancer.
2023年10月，3M和Discovery Education宣布赫曼为青年科学家挑战赛的获胜者。他的奖金：25000美元。他的成就：发明了一种肥皂，有朝一日可以治疗和预防某些形式的皮肤癌症。
It could take years before the soap is available for purchase. But Heman, a 10th grader at Woodson High, is determined. Over the summer, he spent every weekday in a lab at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. When he goes back to school this fall, he’ll be at the lab less often. But he’ll keep adhering to make his dream a reality.
这种肥皂可能需要几年时间才能买到。但伍德森高中十年级的赫曼下定决心。整个夏天，他每个工作日都在约翰霍普金斯大学彭博公共卫生学院的实验室里度过。当他今年秋天回到学校时，他将不那么经常去实验室。但他会继续坚持，让他的梦想成为现实。
Heman was born in Africa. He remembers seeing people in Africa working in the hot sun without protection for their skin. That made them vulnerable to skin cancer, a disease caused by too much exposure to the sun. Skin-cancer treatments typically cost about $40,000. Heman wondered if there was a more affordable way for people to begin to treat the disease. He thought of adding a skin-cancer medicine called imiquimod to a bar of soap. “What is one thing that everyone can use?” Heman recalls thinking. “Everyone uses soap and water for cleaning. So soap would probably be the best option.”
赫曼出生在非洲。他记得看到非洲的人们在烈日下工作，没有保护皮肤。这使他们容易患上皮肤癌症，这是一种因过度暴露在阳光下而引起的疾病。皮肤癌的治疗费用通常在4万美元左右。赫曼想知道是否有一种更实惠的方法让人们开始治疗这种疾病。他想在一块肥皂里加入一种叫咪喹莫特的抗癌药。赫曼回忆道：“每个人都可以使用的东西是什么？每个人都用肥皂和水清洁。所以肥皂可能是最好的选择。”
Heman needed help to bring his idea to life. In 2023, he came across the 3M challenge and submitted a video explaining what he had in mind. Soon, he received an invitation to the company’s headquarters. He spoke in front of a panel of judges. That day, he was named the winner.
赫曼需要帮助来实现他的想法。2023年，他遇到了3M的挑战，并提交了一段视频，解释了他的想法。不久，他收到了公司总部的邀请。他在一组评审面前发言。那天，他被宣布为获胜者。
Since then, Heman has been working on developing his idea. Adult experts are guiding him. One is Deborah Isabelle, a mentor from 3M. “I got really lucky,” she says. “Last year was my first year participating as a mentor in the Young Scientist Challenge, and I was paired with Heman. He’s an incredible, passionate, very inspiring young man.”
从那以后，赫曼一直在努力发展他的想法。成人专家正在指导他。其中一位是来自3M的导师黛博拉·伊莎贝尔。她说：“我真的很幸运。去年是我作为导师参加青年科学家挑战赛的第一年，我和赫曼搭档。他是一个令人难以置信、充满激情、非常鼓舞人心的年轻人。”
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