Teens Win Tech Award For ‘Smart’ Condom Designed To Detect STDs

In the realm of “safe sex,” condoms are, of course, used to prevent sexually transmitted diseases. But a group of budding teen scientists in the United Kingdom say that they have developed a condom that not only prevents STDs from spreading between sexual partners, but can actually detect the presence of STDs, changing colors when they come in contact with a sexually transmitted pathogen, according to a report in The Washington Post.  Their idea was so innovative that in last week’s Teen Tech Awards in the U.K., the three boys—all students at Isaac Newton Academy in London—took top honors in the competition’s “health” category. The only catch is, the “smart” condom does not yet exist. The three students—Daanyaal Ali, 14; Muaz Nawaz, 13; and Chirag Shah, 14—have only a concept for their innovation so far. “I think the reason the judges put this idea first was because the project showed how much learning these boys had done while researching STDs,” TeenTech CEO Maggie Philbin told The Post. The teen’s idea is essentially to treat condoms with antibodies to specific sexually transmitted viruses and bacteria. The antibodies would react when they come in contact with the germs, causing the condom to change color, alerting the user and his partner to the presence of the infection.  “For instance, if the condom were exposed to chlamydia, it might glow green—or yellow for herpes, purple for human papilloma virus and blue for syphilis,” Post reporter Lindsey Bever explained in her report. The boys call their concept “S.T. EYE,” a pun on “STI,” which in the U.K. is the more common term for “STD.” "We created the S.T. EYE as a new way for STI detection to help the future of the next generation," Ali said, as quoted by MTV.com. "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." But the “S.T. EYE” concept is not without its problematic issues, according to a report by The Daily Dot.   “The S.T. EYE is apparently designed for the benefit of male-bodied people who take an active role during penetrative sex, as in men who are penetrating women or other men,” wrote Daily Dot reporter  EJ Dickson. “It’s unclear as to whether the condom detects both the wearer’s and the recipient’s STI statuses, or just the recipient’s. If the latter, that poses some obvious concerns for heterosexual women or gay men who take a passive role during sex.” Photo By ClaudiaM1FLERéunion/Wikimedia Commons