Development efforts of oral contraceptives for men rooted as far
back as in 1970s. Researchers in the field announced then that
male contraceptives were not far away. But, the research efforts
didn’t materialize into successful “male pill” then. However,
today’s researchers are optimistic about the successful
development of “male pills” within years to come. Researchers
have successfully tested a new method to make male mice
temporarily infertile. Diana Blithe, director of this
contraceptive development program, has termed the new method as
“among the most promising” in the field of contraceptive
development. The technique, developed by scientists at US
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in
Bethesda, Maryland, temporarily impairs sperm production by
blocking a protein called BRDT. This method doesn’t mingle with
the hormones, unlike current hormone-based male contraception
techniques which are reported to change male features of users.
The team, headed by Martin Matzuk, has successfully