Teenage boys have finally figured out how to practice safe sex

By Robert Nazarian Published June 24, 2015

non latex condom fights hiv with antioxidant hydrogel condoms colors shutterstock 246516376 — Lemon Tree Images/Shutterstock

Practicing safe sex usually means using a condom and knowing a little bit about your partner, but there is no guarantee that you won’t come in contact with a sexually transmitted infection (STI). Leave it to a few teenage boys at Isaac Newton Academy in east London to figure out when you need to put your clothes back on and run far away.

The S.T.EYE condom will turn colors when it comes into contact with infections such as chlamydia and syphilis. Still in the concept stage, this idea comes from Daanyaal Ali, 14; Muaz Nawaz, 13; and Chirag Shah, 14; and was good enough to win a £1,000 ($1,568) prize in the Future of Health category at the TeenTech Awards.

Recommended Videos

How it works: The condom has a layer of antibodies that interact with the antigens of sexual diseases. If contacted by an STI, the reaction will cause the rubber sheath to change colors. Green would indicate chlamydia, while yellow is for herpes, and blue for syphilis. The condom will also likely detect human papillomavirus, which causes genital warts.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

More importantly, the color changing abilities will work on both sides of the condom, which means it can detect STIs from either partner.

“We created the S.T.EYE as a new way for STI detection to help the future of the next generation,” Ali said. “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.”

According to TeenTech CEO Maggie Philbin, the S.T.EYE condoms are only at the concept stage, but the boys say they have been contacted by a condom company to hopefully bring it from concept to reality.

Topics

Robert Nazarian

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Robert Nazarian became a technology enthusiast when his parents bought him a Radio Shack TRS-80 Color. Now his biggest…

Mobile

4 simple pieces of tech that helped me run my first marathon

Garmin Forerunner 955 Solar displaying pace information.

The fitness world is littered with opportunities to buy tech aimed at enhancing your physical performance. No matter your sport of choice or personal goals, there's a deep rabbit hole you can go down. It'll cost plenty of money, but the gains can be marginal -- and can honestly just be a distraction from what you should actually be focused on. Running is certainly susceptible to this.

A few months ago, I ran my first-ever marathon. It was an incredible accomplishment I had no idea I'd ever be able to reach, and it's now going to be the first of many I run in my lifetime. And despite my deep-rooted history in tech, and the endless opportunities for being baited into gearing myself up with every last product to help me get through the marathon, I went with a rather simple approach.

Health & Fitness

Ends tonight: Save 33% on the Nectar mattress for Prime Day 2023

A Nectar mattress sits on a bed frame in a bedroom.

If you're looking to buy a new mattress, Prime Day is the perfect time to do it, and there's no better company to go with than Nectar. Not only have they been around for a very long time, but they also have some interesting science and technology behind their mattresses, which is perfect for Digital Trends. While we've collected the best deals from Nectar's site, it's still worth exploring all their Prime Day deals using the button link below. Also, before we jump into the deals, we wanted to let you know that all prices are based on queen sizes, but they have everything up to split king if you want it.

What you should shop in this Nectar Prime Day mattress sale.
First, let's take a look at their memory foam mattresses, starting with the , the mattress that launched them into success and a great starter option for $699 rather than $1,049. Moving up from there is the , which is another memory foam mattress and has a phase-change cooling material in it to help if you tend to sleep hot, and is well-priced at $999, down from $1,499. The final memory foam mattress is the , which actually has copper infused into it, which helps draw heat away from your body and is another great mattress to help keep you cool at night. It's currently priced at $1,299 rather than $1,949 and is probably one of the better mattress deals you'll find today.

Mobile

The best health and fitness apps for iPhone in 2023: 18 best ones

Apple's Fitness app on the iPhone 14 Pro.

"Fitness" can mean a lot of things. For some people, it's being able to run far, or run fast. For others, it's being able to lift heavy things and lower them back down again. Others may simply want to keep trim, or eat healthily. It may even mean getting a great night's sleep, or making sure your mental wellness is at its best. Whatever fitness means for you, we have a list of apps that cover all the possible bases. These apps excel in a number of different areas, but what they all generally have in common is that they use your iPhone's powerful tech to monitor and analyze your performance. As a result, they can help you progress along your fitness journey.

These apps are great at keeping you fit, but they're always best when paired with other tech, so make sure to check out our lists of the best fitness trackers and the best running headphones. Here are the best fitness apps for the iPhone in 2023.
Apple Fitness