STD Condom Invented by Teens Changes Its Color as a Warning

A condom that changes colors when it comes into contact with a sexually transmitted disease (STD) was the invention that won top honors on Tuesday at the U.K.’s TeenTech Awards.

According to The Washington Post, the condom — dubbed the S.T. EYE — was invented by Daanyaal Ali, 14, Muaz Nawaz, 13, and Chirag Shah, 14, of England’s Isaac Newton Academy. It won them roughly $1,500 and a future trip to Buckingham Palace.



"We knew that STIs were a huge problem in the U.K.," Daanyaal told The Post. "We saw a gap in the market and we wanted to help people feel safer . . . people can take immediate action in the privacy of their own homes without the invasive procedures at the doctors."

TeenTech chief executive Maggie Philbin praised the team's concept, and said that, "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."

"We know most of these ideas remain ideas," she continued. "But some of them do make it."

Shortly after Tuesday's awards, CNN reported that the trio of young men were approached by a prominent condom manufacturer that is interested in working with them to bring the condom concept to fruition.

One way to manufacture the condoms is to coat normal condoms with antibodies that can recognized different viruses and bacteria, however that could prove very costly by some estimates.

More than 1 million people acquire a sexually transmitted infection every day, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Related Stories:

• Model Loses Leg to Toxic Shock Syndrome, Sues Tampon Maker
  
• Cocaine Pineapples, a Favorite Fruit of Drug Smugglers, Seized
  
• Groupon Condoms Turn Out to Be Counterfeits Full of Holes