Contraception

Researchers at Yale University have identified a key molecule that helps activate sperm and guide them to the egg. This could make it a target for both infertility treatments and new contraceptive methods.

Contraceptives like the Pill are only effective if you remember to take them. In an effort to integrate into the lives of women more seamlessly, researchers at Georgia Tech have developed contraceptive patches that can be attached to jewelry.

A fascinating new study has for the first time linked a specific genetic variant with the efficacy of hormone-based birth control treatments. The research suggests birth control may be less effective in women found with this particular gene.

For decades male contraception has been limited to condoms or vasectomies, but there aren’t really any options between those two extremes. In the hunt for a useful middle-ground, a new method has been developed that so far seems to be relatively long-lasting, effective and reversible.

Contraceptives are inconvenient – implanted devices are invasive, and you have to remember to take the pill every day. Now researchers at Georgia Tech are developing a painless, contraceptive microneedle patch that people can apply themselves in seconds, and only needs to be done once a month.

Men have limited options for birth control. Now, researchers have developed a new compound that slows down sperm to the point where they can no longer swim, potentially paving the way for a male contraceptive that doesn’t affect natural hormones and is reversible.

​The race is on to develop a male contraceptive drug similar to that of the female birth control pill.​ The results from a Phase 1 study into the safety and efficacy of a new male birth control pill are promising, revealing the prospective drug to be safe and effective.​

Finding a male contraceptive compound that is safe, effective and reversible has been relatively elusive for scientists, but a new study has revealed that the secret to a male birth control pill may lie in a plant extract that has ancient African origins.

For thousands of years humans have been using a vast array of strange folk contraceptive methods. A team at UC Berkeley recently examined two commonly used traditional plant-based folk remedies and discovered a potentially new mechanism that could lead to non-toxic, non-hormonal contraceptives.

​Natural Cycles has become the first fertility app to be approved as a contraceptive in Europe. Its CE marking of class IIb signifies that it has met safety, health and efficacy requirements in the same risk category as a condom.

Men don’t really have a long-lasting, reversible and convenient contraception option yet, but a new method called Vasalgel could fit the bill. Tests on rhesus monkeys have now shown that it can effectively prevent pregnancy for over a year.

Biologists at the University of California at Berkeley believe they have discovered the chemical interaction that gives sperm the kick they need to penetrate and fertilize a human egg. The discovery could lead to the creation of a unisex contraceptive, and treat male infertility.