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posted by CoolHand on Saturday September 19 2015, @04:59AM   Printer-friendly
from the prophylactic-prophylaxis dept.

Three students in Britain have won an award for their idea of a condom which would change colour in the presence of disease-causing micro-organisms such as syphilis, herpes virus, HPV, or chlamydia — STIs or Sexually Transmitted Infections. Antibodies in the rubber would link to the organisms' surfaces, leading to the appearance of a distinct colour which would indicate what pathogen was present.

http://techxplore.com/news/2015-06-uk-youths-color-changing-condom-stis.html

Here is an idea: condoms that change color when they come in contact with STIs. That is the idea from three students in the UK attending the Isaac Newton Academy in Ilford. They developed their idea into a contest entry and they won in the "Healthcare Category" in the Teen Tech Awards. Their concept is called "S.T.EYE."

Daily Mail and other sites this week reported that the material turns green if in the presence of chlamydia. Yellow indicates herpes. Purple indicates HPV (human papillomavirus) and blue, syphilis.

The three inventors are 13-to-14 year olds. Daanyaal Ali, Chirag Shah, and Muaz Nawaz hoped their invention can help the future of the next generation. Their prize includes cash and a trip to Buckingham Palace.

In a report from BBC Newsbeat, Daanyaal said that "Once the [bodily] fluids come into contact with the latex, if the person does have some sort of STI, it will cause a reaction through antibodies and antigens hanging on to each other, which triggers an antibody reaction causing a color change."


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  • (Score: 2) by darkfeline on Saturday September 19 2015, @10:46PM

    by darkfeline (1030) on Saturday September 19 2015, @10:46PM (#238571) Homepage

    To state what I think your point is plainly, these condoms, while interesting, are completely pointless. Well, not completely, if the condom breaks then both parties will know whether they need to get any tests or not if neither party can trust the other to tell the truth. It also serves a different role as a contraceptive by breaking up couples. For most purposes though, it doesn't seem worth the extra trouble over regular latex.

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