A Few Teens Created A Color-Coded Condom That Tests For STDs

Recently a group of teens in the UK have developed an idea for a new spin on condoms...

Students Musaz Nawaz, Daanyaal Ali and Chirag Shah from London’s Isaac Newton Academy won the top prize in the Health Category of the TeenTech Awards — a contest that challenges scientifically-minded students to devise “technology that will make life better, simpler, or easier” — for envisioning the S.T.EYE. It’s a condom that would change color if the person using it has an STI, so both partners could be aware of it.

Improving lives through technology is exactly what these students had in mind.

“We created the S.T.EYE as a new way for STI detection to help the future of the next generation,” said 14-year-old Ali in a press release. “We wanted to make something that made detecting harmful STIs safer than ever before, so that people can take immediate action in the privacy of their own homes without the often-scary procedures at the doctors. We’ve made sure we’re able to give peace of mind to users and let people act even more responsibly than ever before.”

A layer of molecules would theoretically attach to bacteria and viruses associated with common STIs like herpes, syphilis and chlamydia. The attachment of said molecules would then cause the condom to glow a certain color, depending on the infection it detected, forming an “inbuilt indicator.”

WOAH. For a start, awesome idea. Secondly, those are some smart as 14-year-olds.