Introduction: Condoms are one of the oldest types of contraception. They got popular with nobles in Europe when syphilis became a big problem in the 1400s. A thousand years later, condoms are still the only barrier that stops pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. But… around the world, most people who could benefit from condoms don’t use them.

The Gates Foundation made the news in March when they announced one hundred thousand dollars … and potentially a million dollars… for a snazzier condom. Condoms have been pretty much the same since the 1920s, and the Gates Foundation says its time for a redesign.

A few individuals around the country are on a campaign to make condoms so cool people can’t wait to use them. 

Story produced for the Chemical Heritage Foundation.

The Chemistry Behind the Condom

A new outlook for cystic fibrosis... Midwives used to have a saying: “if you kiss your baby and it’s salty, it will die within a year”. It wasn’t until the 1930’s that scientists discovered cystic fibrosis, the cause of those deaths. Today, life expectancy for a person with cystic fibrosis is 37. This piece tells the stories of two individuals living with the disease at a time when the prognosis is changing quickly.


Katrina Roi