The Hunt for Male Birth Control

Though the female birth control pill—which contains hormones that prevent the ovaries from releasing eggs—has been around since 1960, men have surprisingly few of their own reversible contraceptive options.But by injecting a compound into the abdomens of mice, the authors of a recent study were able to effectively inhibit the development of sperm without any adverse side effects.“We’re hoping this will provide a male consumer with one of many different [birth control] options, just like women have now,” said Chuen-yan Cheng, lead author of the new study and a senior scientist at the Population Council’s Center for Biomedical Research, an international non-profit.Read more at...Seed, October 2006.