Despite being one of the cheapest , most wide available , andhistorically establishedforms of birth control – and the only one thatalso offers protectionagainst some sexually transmitted contagion – prophylactic never seem to enjoy the popularity they deserve . Though some of this simply make out down tobad sex Department of Education , for many , the ubiquitous latex prophylactic can be uncomfortable , inconvenient , and , well , unsexy – andtheir use is sufferingas a result .

The problem , fit in to a squad of researchers from Boston University , is lubrication .

“ Personal lubricants can increase user expiation with male rubber by reducing friction and yield a slippy genius , ” they explain in a study published today inRoyal Society Open Science .

“ However , lube present disadvantage of dilution in physiological fluids and sloughing away over echo joint , ” they continue , describing in an impressively unsexy way how and why commercial lubricant hold out off during sex   – not idealistic .

But luckily , they have a solution : a new , ego - lube condom that becomes tricky when it come into inter-group communication with liquid – any liquidity .

“ The idea was could we come up with applied science where the condom would be kind of ego - lubricating ? ” study co - author Mark Grinstaff toldThe Guardian . “ In other word , in the presence of just wet or water or vaginal fluid , it would basically become slippery . ”

The squad ’s excogitation relies on a unexampled kind of polymer coating for the rubber-base paint already wide used in condom production – mean current fabrication procedure would not need to be drastically update to make the slippy arm .

Because the coating has not yet been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ) , the team have been ineffective to try out the new condom in , uh , real - human race conditions . But when 33 mass were asked to equate the moisten material with dry and lubricate latex dip in piss , 85 percentage said that the new invention was “ clearly the most slippery ” , and closely three - quarters opt it as their preferred condom textile . And in anticipation of their invention ’s winner , the squad have also subjugate it to industrial testing , so they can also boast that it retains its slipperiness for at least 1,000 thrusts – that ’s about 16 min of pump action , or aboutthree metre longerthan the average bedroom sitting .

The researchers behind the lubricious innovation were underpin by funds from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation , which challenge scientist to hail up with raw find in prophylactic technologyback in 2013 .

“ Quite but , condoms save lives,”wrotethe project organiser at the metre , " … but the success and impact of any public wellness tool hinges on that tool being used consistently and correctly by those who need it . ”

And the team hope that their new safe will do just that – make multitude more willing toactuallywrap it before they tap it .

The good word is , we should n’t have to wait too long for it to strike the shelves . A letters patent has already been register on the extra - slippy condom , and the researchers say they trust it will be useable in store within a brace of year – make for a much - ask twenty-first - century update to the contraceptive contraption .

“ The last advance in condom technology is more than 50 twelvemonth ago , and that was when silicon oil got introduced as a lubricant , ” Grinstaff told The Guardian . “ We are using our grandparent ’ technology in the 21st century , which is crazy . ”