Hate condoms but like sex? Bill Gates to fund the next-gen condom

Wednesday, March 27, 2013 by: Antonia
Tags: condoms, Bill Gates, incentives

(NaturalNews) In an effort to make a better condom, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is offering up to $1 million (with an initial funding of $100,000), for anyone that can complete the task.

Condoms today are widely available, highly recognizable globally, and arguably easy to use, but there is still a "lack of perceived incentive for consistent use."

It is a perfect example of a multi-purpose prevention technology (MPT) in that it helps to prevent pregnancy for women, and prevents numerous STIs, including HIV transmission for both partners, but why the lack of use?

Why don't guys slip on the dome?

According to the Grand Challenges in Global Health announcement, "the primary drawback from the male perspective is that condoms decrease pleasure as compared to no condom, creating a trade-off that many men find unacceptable, particularly given that the decisions about use must be made just prior to intercourse."

Women condoms aren't any better. They are more expensive and more difficult to use, and many lack the desire to put one in just prior to the act.

"While negotiating use of female condoms may be easier than male condoms, this need for negotiation precisely illustrates the barrier preventing greater use that we seek to address through this call," Grand Challenges adds.

While condoms have been in use for the past 400 years, there hasn't been any technological advances in the past 50. Even with the breakthroughs in material science and the advancements in neurobiology and reproductive biology, no improvements have been applied to the condom.

The goal here is simple: To create "a Next Generation Condom that significantly preserves or enhances pleasure, in order to improve uptake and regular use." Or, better, to "develop one that was preferred to no condom."

The fact that the term "condom negotiation" exists along with the simple fact that condoms save lives, speaks volumes about the importance of addressing any and all concerns surrounding today's condom.

Sources for this article include:

http://readwrite.com
http://www.grandchallenges.org
http://www.impatientoptimists.org/Posts/2013/03/Reinventing-The-Condom

About the author:
A science enthusiast with a keen interest in health nutrition, Antonia has been intensely researching various dieting routines for several years now, weighing their highs and their lows, to bring readers the most interesting info and news in the field. While she is very excited about a high raw diet, she likes to keep a fair and balanced approach towards non-raw methods of food preparation as well. >>> Click here to see more by Antonia