The Checkup: The $100,000 Condom

• These days, condoms aren’t known for being particularly high tech; after all, they haven’t changed much—or at all—in the past 50 years. Which is why the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has launched a new initiative to award $100,000 in initial funding—and another $1 million in continued funding—to whoever comes up with the “next generation of condoms.” Reports Mashable:

“The primary drawback from the male perspective is that condoms decrease pleasure as compared to no condom,” says the Foundation’s description of the challenge. So a “next-generation” condom would, perhaps, find some way to increase sensation as to get men to wear them more often — purely in the name of global health, of course.

Ideas are also welcome for a new female condom, which are apparently tricky to use and significantly more expensive than their male counterparts. Ideas on this front would make the female condom easier to use and cheaper to make and buy. The goal of the initiative, of course, is to reduce the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and decrease the number of unwanted pregnancies. The Foundation believes that a better condom could do just that. Read more—including how to enter your idea—here.

• If you’re a fan of portion-controlled, 100-calorie snack packs, listen up: you might be eating more calories than you think. A new study found most people will eat more when they see 100-calorie labels—and in fact, they fully expect to do so. Read more here.

• Worried about allergy season? Yeah, I hear ya. The bad news: it’s already upon us. The good news: so far, it’s not as bad as last year. More here.

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