There’s a grass that grows in Australia which covers about 30 percent of the continent, roughly three times the size of Texas. Called spinifex, the plant’s unique cell structure contains a high amount of hemicellulose, the non-stiff part of the cell wall, which allows it to maintain flexibility in extreme heat so it doesn’t crack and release all its water.

Some indigenous communities in Australia have long known spinifex has useful applications and properties. And today, in a press release, researchers from the University of Queensland announced that spinifex has what they believe to be profound implications for the future of latex condom manufacturing. They claim fibers from the grass can improve latex to make condoms as thin as a human hair without any loss in strength.

Because of spinifex’s structure, the researchers discovered that the plant’s long, thin nanofibers are easy to extract and suspend really nicely in water. “So one of the first things we thought was: we have to put these things into rubber,” says lead researcher professor Darren Martin. “One of the holy grails of rubber is to be able to throw an additive in without making it stiff.”

It wasn’t until David Bowie passed that I heard about how he had slept with an underage girl.

At the age of 15, Lori Mattix was a self-described groupie in the 70s ~ a groupie who lost her virginity to David Bowie. Last November, in an interview at the Thrillist, the adult Mattix seemed fine about it. Even when Thrillist reporter Michael Kaplan pressed her about it, she seemed dreamily happy, gushing, “Who wouldn’t want to lose their virginity to David Bowie?”

Mattix’s stories of her groupie years, deflowering, and age have varied over the years ~ which is not stated here to cast doubt on her claims, but to point out that she clearly hasn’t viewed her sexual activities with Bowie (or others) to be rape or anything remotely close to it. But, as told in the Thrillist piece, Mattix was a minor and Bowie was not. So even with Mattix agreeing and desiring to have sex with Bowie, her age removes her legal ability to consent. This would make Bowie guilty, ethically if not legally, of statutory rape.

Yes, I know; we all took David Bowie’s death pretty hard. But I’m not posting this about Bowie per se…. I mean, sure, there are definitely implications and conversations we should be having regarding celebrities and abuse. And we do have some consumer power we can wield. But the real issues I am looking at in this conversation are the rights of young people to have any sexual autonomy, who decides who is victimized, and how autonomy and victimization impact one another.

California has become the first U.S. state to make lessons on sexual consent a requirement at its high schools. The state was also the first nationwide to require colleges and universities to adopt the affirmative consent policy during campus sexual assault investigations.