A scientific breakthrough has emerged that could potentially lead to a safe and reversible male contraceptive. Praise be.
Apparently, scientists have discovered which protein gives sperm the ability to swim, and then created peptide compound that can turn that protein off. No swimming sperm, no pregnancy.
According to the Telegraph, researchers are shocked at how fast it works. Potentially, a man could take it just minutes before having sex, and it wears off after only a couple days.
“The results are startling – and almost instant," says lead researcher Professor John Howl, of Wolverhampton University. "When you take healthy sperm and add our compound, within a few minutes the sperm basically cannot move.”
Yes. Good. That.
This is way easier than the female birth control pill (also known as the ONLY birth control pill for the last 50 years—where you been, science?) which takes at least a month to become effective, and then takes multiple months for the effects to wear off. Not to mention how great this is for every woman for whom the pill turns into a crazy person.
So far the compound, which will either end up as a pill or a nasal spray, has only been tested in labs, but could be tested on live animals within the next three years. Only one question remains:
Why wait?