Scientists in Australia may have found a solution to the age old issue of condoms having a desensitising effect and not being as good as "the real thing", working on a form of protection that offers comfort and pleasure.
Funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation with $100,000, scientists at the University of Wollongong are experimenting with hydrogels to create the next generation of condoms.
Hydrogel is a material made up of water and held together by polymers. Like latex, the material is durable and flexible, yet it also has the benefit of looking and feeling like real skin, making it a great alternative to latex condoms.
This material has already been implemented in the medical field as a result of its skin like properties acting as human tissue in to simulate blood vessels and eye implants.
The hope is to develop a condom that is so pleasurable that people will no longer resent wearing them and decreasing the spread of disease.