UK youths win for color-changing condom idea to recognize STIs

[TexasTowelie]

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 theTeen 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."

Read more: http://phys.org/news/2015-06-uk-youths-color-changing-condom-stis.html

[CBGLuthier]

1. Roses are red and this condom turned blue

I think it would be best for me to not fuck you.



Bravo for science and for young scientists to boot. Hell, in America kids that age too often don't even know about these diseases or condoms.

[bigwillq]

7. Bwah.

[treestar]

2. Interesting such an idea comes from people that young

[myrna minx]

3. K&R

[PeaceNikki]

4. To clarify, this is only a concept. Scientifically implausible at the moment.

And riddled with scientific and ethical roadblocks.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/tarahaelle/2015/06/25/std-testing-color-changing-condoms-sound-awesome-but-arent-feasible-or-wise/

[LuvNewcastle]

5. I can just imagine the issues there.

'Johnny was with Susie last night and the condom turned yellow, so you better not touch her' -- repeated all through the high school halls.

[PeaceNikki]

6. That Forbes article does a good job addressing the MASSIVE ethical issues of the idea.

False positives or negatives, medical testing without consent, testing without clinical assistance in readings, use in abusive relationships, etc.

Like it says, it's great that these kids are thinking about STI's, but this idea is riddled with scientific and moral problems.