Teens develop condoms that change colors when exposed to STDs

Three teenagers in England have come up with the concept for a "smart condom" that changes colors when exposed to sexually transmitted diseases.

Daanyaal Ali, 14, Muaz Nawaz, 13, and Chirag Shah, 14, of the Isaac Newton Academy won the top prize Tuesday at the TeenTech Awards, winning $1,500 and the opportunity to meet Prince Andrew at Buckingham Palace later this year. Their condom — called the S.T. EYE — would have antibodies that interact with the antigens of STDs, changing colors depending on the disease (for example, it could turn yellow for herpes, or red for syphilis). "We knew that STIs were a huge problem in the U.K.," Ali told The Washington Post. "We saw a gap in the market and we wanted to help people feel safer."

There are still lots of questions when it comes to the S.T. EYE, as raised by The Post: Does it detect disease in the user, partner, or both? What happens if someone has more than one STD? Finally, what's the etiquette if the condom does turn a color? While it's still just a concept for now, condom companies have already started to approach the teens.

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