We’ve been hearing rumblings from around the world that science has a serious boner for trying to figure out how to make a male contraceptive pill.
Well — control your boners, scientists: that pill could be on the horizon!
Oh, and it will be ready for testing by the end of the year! What!!
Plus, it was found by accident…
James Bradner thinks he and his colleagues may have stumbled on a molecule that could lead to the world’s first effective male birth control pill — and are almost ready to test it!
James was was working on creating an inhibitor molecule that could make cancer cells “forget” they were cancer, leading to potential new treatments for lung and blood cancers, when he found that it can also inhibit a protein in the testes.
Here’s what he said:
“In mating studies, JQ1 accomplishes a complete and reversible contraceptive effect in males without adversely affecting testosterone levels or mating behaviors and without prompting obvious [birth defects]in offspring.”
Boom. Holy grail of male contraceptive.
“These cells effectively forget how to make mature sperm. The result is a profound decrease in sperm count and impared motility, leading to a complete contraceptive effect. It’s really stunning. As early as next year, we may have a sense of how well this works in humans. What was initially a side project in our laboratory has become a major focus of our research├óΓé¼┬ªwe’re still aggressively advancing a derivative of it as a cancer drug.”
So not only do we accidentally get a male pill, we might still get a cancer treatment out of it too!
This is so rad!
So what about side effects?
“The only significant side effect we’ve seen has been mild weight loss. For sure, some people would not be too upset with this.”
Is this real life? Can this be??
This HAS to be a dream!
We can’t wait to hear what they come up with within the next year!
Science! Science! Science!
[Image via AP Images.]