11 Win $100,000 for Reinventing the Condom From the Gates Foundation Michaeleen Doucleff - NPR.org
go to original December 1, 2013

No more fumbling in the dark? South African designers have developed a condom that you crack and put on in one quick motion. (ProntoCondoms)

When you hear the term "next-generation condom," beef tendon probably isn't the first thing that pops into your mind.

But a condom made from the cow part is one of 11 ideas to win $100,000 from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in its reinvent-the-condom competition.

Another winning proposal uses a material that shrinks when it warms up on the body so it provides a perfect fit. Yet another team combined opening the condom package with application — in a single quick motion — so there's no more fumbling in the dark.

Back in March, the Gates Foundation challenged scientists to design a condom that men or women would actually want to use. The goal was to develop "new condoms that significantly preserve or enhance pleasure," according the foundation's website.

The motivation is simple. The Gates Foundation is one of the biggest supporters of global health (and a funder of NPR). It figures that if more couples use condoms, they're less likely to transmit viruses like HIV or end up with unwanted pregnancies.

The foundation received more than 800 entries for the condom challenge. It announced the 11 winning proposals last month.

Read the rest at NPR

We invite you to add your charity or supporting organizations' news stories and coming events to PVAngels so we can share them with the world. Do it now!