Scientists may have made a breakthrough which they say is the key for a male contraceptive pill. Scientists say they can use a peptide to “switch off” the sperm’s ability to swim, leaving men temporally infertile.
Lead researcher Professor John Howl from Wolverhampton University said “The results are startling -and almost instant. When you take healthy sperm and add our compound, within a few minutes the sperm basically cannot move.” Professor Howl who worked along with scientists in Portugal developed a compound called a cell-penetrating peptide, in the lab.
This new approach was tested on bovine and human sperm in the lab. Live animal tested is expected to start within three years.
