This contraceptive would get rid of the risk of hormonal side effects including irritability, mood swings, and acne. Katnal1 only affects sperm later in development, not the production of sperm cells. Using male mice, they were able to find that those missing the Katnal1 gene were infertile, since the sperm weren’t able to fully develop.
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Gene Leads to Male Contraceptive
A key gene, Katnal1, used in sperm development was discovered by researchers at the University of Edinburgh. This discovery could provide useful information to those doing research based on male infertility when this gene is malfunctioning. This discovery could also lead to the production of a non-hormonal male contraceptive that targets Katnal1 to hinder the development of sperm. This contraceptive would get rid of the risk of hormonal side effects including irritability, mood swings, and acne. Katnal1 only affects sperm later in development, not the production of sperm cells. Using male mice, they were able to find that those missing the Katnal1 gene were infertile, since the sperm weren’t able to fully develop.
This contraceptive would get rid of the risk of hormonal side effects including irritability, mood swings, and acne. Katnal1 only affects sperm later in development, not the production of sperm cells. Using male mice, they were able to find that those missing the Katnal1 gene were infertile, since the sperm weren’t able to fully develop.
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With the numerous varieties of female birth control pills on the market, I always wondered why there was never a male contraceptive made in the form of a pill. My question concerns permanent infertility. If hormones are not being used, would this kind of contraceptive run the risk of permanently damaging the development of sperm cells so that the male would forever be infertile? And if this could be done with males, does that mean it won't be long before research is done for a non-hormonal female contraceptive?
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