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Bill Gates Condom Challenge ‘To Be Met’ By Scientists By 2015

By Kamal Nayan | Update Date: Nov 21, 2013 09:00 AM EST

The thinnest, strongest material, Graphene known till date will soon be used in making condoms. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has offered $100,000 to scientists for inventing a stronger and thinner condoms.

The National Graphene Institute that is set to open in 2015 will be producing the condoms manufactured with Graphene.

Graphene was discovered at the University of Manchester, six years ago. For discovering the substance, scientists Sir Andre Geim and Sir Kostya Novoselov also received Nobel Prize for Physics in 2010.

Earlier Graphene was expected to find its remarkable utilities in smartphones and broadband technologies.

“Redesigned condom that overcomes inconvenience, fumbling or perceived loss of pleasure would be a powerful weapon in the fight against poverty,” said Dr Papa Salif Sow, senior program officer on the HIV team, according to BBC.

The foundation has offered the Grand Challenges Explorations grant to the Manchester research team to develop new composite materials for condoms, BBC reported.

“People have wondered when graphene will be used in our daily life,” said Dr Aravind Vijayaraghavan who will lead the research, according to BBC.

“Currently, people imagine using graphene in mobile phone screens, food packaging and chemical sensors. If this project is successful, we might have [an everyday] use which will literally touch our everyday life in the most intimate way.”

£23m has been granted from the European Regional Development Fund for building the five-floor National Graphene Institute. The institute will be at the University of Manchester. The institute after opening up in 2015 will create 100 jobs.

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