Promising Trial Results Show Male Contraception May Be Arriving in the Near Future

A phase 2 trial showed that a gel-based male contraceptive is both effective at preventing unwanted pregnancies and quickly reversible.Tests will continue to examine the effectiveness, safety, acceptability, and reversibility of contraception after treatment stops, but the results are a sign that reliable male birth control may not be far away from a pharmacy near you.The NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development is funding the study, which included 222 men who completed at least 3 weeks of daily treatment with the contraceptive gel.Applied daily to the shoulder blades, the gel contained 8 milligrams (mg) of a hormone called segesterone acetate and 74 mg of testosterone.By week 15, 86% of the participants were tested and showed a sperm count below the level at which a man is typically diagnosed as infertile.Testosterone treatment alone decreases sperm production, with a median time of 15 weeks but the addition of segesterone acetate speeds the time and lowers the dose of testosterone needed to suppress sperm production over testosterone alone, said senior researcher Diana Blithe, Ph.D., chief of the Contraceptive Development Program at the National Institutes of Health.In the daily segesterone-testosterone gel regimen, blood levels of testosterone were kept in the physiologic range to...

Read More........→September 04, 2024

New Drug Affecting Sperm Motility Shows Promise as Male Birth Control Pill

Credit: Hal Gatewood/ UnsplashA novel, non-hormonal sperm-specific approach offers a promising option for reversible human male contraception.The world’s population has increased by more than 2.6-fold in the last 60 years. The growing trend continues – projections indicate that the number of people living on our planet will grow to 9 billion by 2037 from 8 billion in 2022. These numbers underscore the need for considering family planning; however, there have been limited breakthroughs in contraception in recent decades. Specifically for men, there are no oral contraceptive pills available.In a study published in the journal Science, researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and collaborating institutions show in animal models that a novel, non-hormonal sperm-specific approach offers a promising option for reversible human male contraception.“Although researchers have been investigating several strategies to develop male contraceptives, we still do not have a birth control pill for men,” said corresponding author Dr. Martin Matzuk, director of the Center for Drug Discovery and chair of the Department of Pathology and Immunology at Baylor. “In this study we focused on a novel approach – identifying a small molecule that would inhibit serine/threonine kinase 33 (STK33), a protein that is specifically required for fertility in both...

Read More........→June 12, 2024

Why Men Find Switching Tasks More Difficult Than Do Women

It has long been known to science that women find it easier than men to multitask and switch between tasks. But identifying exactly which areas of male and female brains respond differently and why has so far been unclear. According to researchers from the HSE Neurolinguistics Laboratory, men need to mobilise additional areas of their brain and use more energy than women when multitasking. Why Men Find Switching Tasks More Difficult Needing to switch attention between tasks causes stronger activation in certain brain regions in men compared to women. Although women find it easier than men to switch between tasks; how exactly their brains function differently in such situations has so far been unknown. Recent research reveals that male brains appear to consume more energy when they need to shift attention. In addition to this, in men there is greater activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal areas of the brain compared to women, as well as activation in some other areas which is not usually observed in women. Such differences are typical of younger men and women aged 20 to 45, according to findings from experiments conducted by researchers Svetlana Kuptsova and Maria Ivanova of the HSE Neurolinguistic Laboratory, radiologists Alexey Petrushevsky and Oksana Fedina of the Centre for Speech Pathology and Neurorehabilitation,...

Read More........→November 22, 2016

Fertilization technique to create baby with DNA from 3 people found in UK

Britain is planning to become the first country in the world to offer controversial "three-parent" fertility treatments to families who want to avoid passing on cureless diseases to their children. The methods, today only at the research stage in laboratories in Britain and the United States, would for the first time include implanting genetically modified embryos into women. It involves intervening in the fertilization process to remove faulty mitochondrial DNA, which can cause inherited conditions such as fatal heart problems, liver failure, brain disorders, blindness and muscular dystrophy. The methods are designed to help families with mitochondrial diseases - incurable conditions passed down the maternal line that affect around one in 6,500 children worldwide. Mitochondria act as tiny energy-generating batteries inside cells. The potential treatment is known as three-parent in vitro fertilization (IVF) because the offspring would have genes from a mother, a father and from a female donor. Britain's fertility regulator says it has found broad public support for innovative in vitro fertilization techniques. It also found there was no evidence to suggest the techniques were unsafe, but said further research was still necessary. Critics, however, slammed the decision as a breach of ethics, saying there were already safe methods...

Read More........→December 04, 2013

The peculiar 3D model which allows parents to hold their baby... BEFORE it's even born

Expectant parents in Japan who can't wait to show the world what their baby will look like can now buy a 3D model of the foetus Expectant parents who cannot wait to hold their new child can now buy a three-dimensional model of the foetus to cradle and show friends. Japanese inventors have devised a way to transform the commonplace ultrasound scan into an anatomically correct resin replica for parents to handle and keep as a memento. The nine-centimetre (3.6-inch) resin model of the white foetus, encased in a transparent block in the shape of the mother's body, is fashioned by a 3D printer after an MRI scan. FASOTEC, the company offering the 'Shape of an Angel' model, even offers parents a miniature version which could be a 'nice adornment to a mobile phone strap or key chain.' Tomohiro Kinoshita, of FASOTEC, said: 'As it is only once in a lifetime that you are pregnant with that child, we received requests for these kind of models from pregnant women who... do not want to forget the feelings and experience of that time.' The 'Shape of an 3D model of their unborn child's face Angel' costs 100,000 yen (or around £760), and the company said the ideal time for a scan is around eight or nine months into the pregnancy. For those who would like a less pricey version, the company will start offering a 3D model...

Read More........→January 17, 2013

Terminator Arm Dad

Nigel Ackland, 53, a father who lost an arm in a work accident, had this bionic 'Terminator arm' fitted. He uses the new limb by sending signals from his brain and controling it with his upper arm. This remarkable video composes us speculate — is there some sort of psychosomatic assessment before someone is given a robot-Terminator arm, or do doctors just cross their fingers and hope for the best? It seems like that could go really wrong. luckily, Nigel Ackland, 53, is using his  bionic arm for cracking eggs and torrential beers, rather than throttling somebody until their heart beats no more. Ackland lost part of his arm in an accident, and now for the first time in six years he can dress himself, peel vegetables and shake hands with any person brave enough to stick their hand into a robot hand, gratitude to sensors in the arm that are attached to two muscles. Good job, science. Source: SpotINF...

Read More........→January 13, 2013

The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'

. By Carol Clark: A neuro-imaging study shows that personal values that people refuse to disavow, even when offered cash to do so, are processed differently in the brain than those values that are willingly sold. “Our experiment found that the realm of the sacred – whether it’s a strong religious belief, a national identity or a code of ethics – is a distinct cognitive process,” says Gregory Berns, director of the Center for Neuropolicy at Emory University and lead author of the study. The results were published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. Sacred values prompt greater activation of an area of the brain associated with rules-based, right-or-wrong thought processes, the study showed, as opposed to the regions linked to processing of costs-versus-benefits. Berns headed a team that included Emory economist Monica Capra; Michael Prietula, a professor of information systems and operations management at Emory's Goizueta Business School; a psychologist from the New School for Social Research and anthropologists from the Institute Jean Nicod in Paris, France. (Click here to see the full list of names.) The research was funded by the U.S. Office of Naval Research, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the National Science Foundation. “We’ve come up with a method to start answering...

Read More........→November 27, 2012

Male sheep and female deer are dear mates

Beijing, December 06: Staff at a wildlife park in southwest China have turned to the country's half a billion web users for advice after a male sheep and a female deer began mating -- and soon became inseparable. A posting on the park's microblog posed the question: "What do you do when a ram falls in love with a deer?" It asked readers whether they agreed it would be "unethical" to let the unusual pairing continue. "They do not want to be separated but it is unethical to let them go on,"said the posting, addressed to users of China's hugely popular weibos -- microblogging services similar to Twitter that have taken the country by storm. The romantic liaison hit headlines this week after a local television station in the southwestern province of Yunnan picked up on the story, reporting that attempts to separate the pair had been unsuccessful. The ram -- whose Chinese name Changmao means Long Hair -- had "completely integrated himself into deer society" after being placed in a pen with the animals, the Global Times daily reported. Source: Articl...

Read More........→November 01, 2012

Scientists to build ' Artificial human brain'; useful to cure brain disease

The human brain’s power could rival any machine. And now scientists are trying to build one using the world’s most powerful computer. It is intended to combine all the information so far uncovered about its mysterious workings - and replicate them on a screen, right down to the level ofindividual cells and molecules. Supercomputer will simulate the entire mind and will help fight against brain diseases If it works it could be revolutionary for understanding devastating neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, and even shedding light into how we think, and make decisions. Leading the project is Professor Henry Markram based in Switzerland, who will be working with scientists from across Europe including the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute at Cambridge. They hope to complete it within 12 years. He said: ‘The complexity of the brain, with its billions of interconnected neurons, makes it hard for neuroscientists to truly understand how it works. ‘Simulating it will make it much easier – allowing them to manipulate and measure any aspect of the brain.’Housed at a facility in Dusseldorf in Germany, the ‘brain’ will feature thousands of three-dimensional images built around a semi-circular ‘cockpit’ so scientists can virtually ‘fly’ around different areas and watch how they communicate...

Read More........→October 27, 2012

PM announces $50 million for bio-diversity conservation

HYDERABAD: The  Prime Minister  Tuesday announced 50 million U.S. dollars to strengthen the institutional mechanism for bio-diversity conservation in India. Addressing the 11th Conference of Parties on Convention on Biological Diversity here, Dr. Manmohan Singh said thesefunds will be used to enhance the technical and human capability of the national and state level mechanisms to attain objectives of convention on bio diversity. He said government has also earmarked funds to promote capacity building in developing countries. The Prime Minister said, developing new models of inclusive conservation is a challenge to protect environment and ecology in future. Stating that India has recently ratified Nagoya Protocol, he said global action on achieving UN targets of Biodiversity can not be delayed further and called upon member countries to follow suit. Dr Singh reiterated that India stands committed to biodiversity conservation linked with poverty reduction programmes. He explained about how livelihood is being provided to rural people under the Mahatma Gandhi National RuralEmployment Guarantee Programme which in turn is also facilitating conservation of resources Dr. Singh asserted that his government has legalised the rights of forest dwellers by passing Forest Rights Act and similar innovative approaches...

Read More........→October 17, 2012

Americans win chemistry Nobel prize for cell proteins research

The 2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Robert Lefkowitz  and Brian Kobilka of the US for groundbreaking discoveries that reveal the inner workings of an important family of cell receptors, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences reported Wednesday. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said in a statement the 8 million crown ($1.2 million) prize went to Robert Lefkowitz  and Brian Kobilka for discovering the inner workings of G-protein-coupled receptors. Chemistry was the third of this year's Nobel prizes. Prizes for achievements in science, literature and peace were first awarded in 1901 in accordance with the will of dynamite inventor and businessman Alfred Nobel. ($1 = 6.6125 Swedish crowns) On Thursday, the winner of the Literature Prize will be announced. Reuters, RIA  Source: Voice of Russi...

Read More........→October 11, 2012

French and American scientists win Nobel Physics Prize

2012 Nobel Prize for physics laureates Serge Haroche of France and David Wineland of the US at the Royal Swedish Academy of Science in Stockholm. Reuters A French-American duo shared the 2012 Nobel Prize in physics on Tuesday for inventing methods to observe the bizarre properties of the quantum world, research that has led to the construction of extremely precise clocks and helped scientists take the first steps toward building superfast computers. Serge Haroche of France and American David Wineland opened the door to new experiments in quantum physics by showing how to observe individual quantum particles without destroying them. That was previously thought impossible because single quantum particles lose their mysterious quantum properties when they interact with the outside world, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said. A quantum particle is one that is isolated from everything else. In this situation, an atom or electron or photon takes on strange properties. It can be in two places at once, for example. It behaves in some ways like a wave. But these properties are instantly changed when it interacts with something else, such as when somebody observes it. Working separately, the two scientists, both 68, developed "ingenious laboratory methods" that allowed them to manage and measure and control...

Read More........→October 10, 2012

Scientists can now read our minds

Do you believe that some one can read what are you thinking about? If notReading mind is not far away if the research will go on right way. It may seem like something from a science fiction but scientists claim they have found a way to read the human mind. Researchers at University of California-Los Angeleshave developed what they call 'brain reading' method that uses past history to determine future cognitive patterns and thought process, the Daily Mail reported. The researchers compare the results to Google's predictive search capability, when the website guesses what search terms users are typing before they finish. The study, led by author Ariana Anderson, a post-doctoral fellow in the Integrative Neuroimaging Technology lab at the university, was performed onsmokers experiencing nicotine cravings. Durin the study, MRI brain wave data was analysed to determine which regions of the brain and which neural networks are responsible for resisting nicotine addiction. Source; The Ultimate Updat...

Read More........→September 10, 2012

Is a male contraceptive on the way?

American researchers may have found an effective and hormone-free birth control pill for men. A study in the journal Cell shows that a small molecule makes male mice reversibly infertile without putting a damper on their sex drive. When the animals stop taking this new form of birth control, their sperm rebound and they are again able to sire perfectly healthy offspring. "This compound produces a rapid and reversible decrease in sperm count and motility with profound effects on fertility," said lead author James Bradner of the Dana- Farber Cancer Institute. A male birth control pill hasn't been easy to come by in large part because of the challenge of getting any drug across the blood:testis barrier, where it can reach the sperm-generating cells. Known as JQ1, the compound targets a testis-specific protein called BRDT that is essential for fertility. When mice are given the BRDT-inhibiting molecule, they begin producing fewer sperm and those sperm they do produce don't swim as well. There are no apparent adverse effects on the males' future offspring. "We envision that our discoveries can be completely translated to men, providing a novel and efficacious strategy for a male contraceptive," the researchers wrote. However, not everyone is convinced. “They’ve found a nice system for studying spermatogenesis,...

Read More........→August 18, 2012

Japanese scientists create first swimming robot

Don't be amazed if organisers have to spot check for Japanese robots clinching the swimming medals at the next Olympics. For a team at the Tokyo University of Technology has created a 'Swumanoid' robot using a 3D scanner to perfectly map a human swimmer's physique, which has perfected the back-stroke and tries freestyle swimming. Apart from life-saving ambitions, the Swumanoid can be useful in helping research into swimming. The team, led by associate professor Motomu Nakashima, hopes that eventually robots like the Swumanoid can act as robot lifeguards, patrolling our shores and helping swimmers in distress, the 'Daily Mail' reported. It is difficult to secure motion-sensing pads to swimmers in the water, and it is also difficult for swimmers to perfectly repeat repetitive actions over and over. Swumanoids can do this well, helping researchers measure various elements like the force required to propel swimmers through the water. The research team created Swumanoid by using a 3D scanner to perfectly map a human swimmer's physique. These measurements were used to create the robot, with 20 waterproof, computer-controlled motors providing the swimming motion. The robot can currently swim the backstroke and the front crawl, but he will need a new pair of legs before he can tackle the breast-stroke. However,...

Read More........→August 12, 2012

Has God Particle finally been found? Scientists prepare to announce new results

The hunt for the God Particle could be close to completion as scientists prepare to reveal the latest results from the Large Hadron Collider ahead of a major conference next week. Scientists from Cern will announce on Wednesday whether the tantalising "hints" of the Higgs Boson which they presented in December have been strengthened or grown weaker over the past six months. Although the results may not be strong enough to declare an official discovery, they are rumoured to show very similar signals to those announced last year which back up the previous findings. Independent experts said a replication of the same results would leave little doubt that the "hints" were genuine, indicating that the sought after particle, or something resembling it, exists. Finding the Higgs Boson would provide the last piece of evidence for the Standard Model, the most widely accepted explanation of how the Universe works. The particle, first proposed in theory by British physicist Peter Higgs in 1964, would prove the existence of the Higgs Field, an invisible force which gives particles their mass and prevents them from whizzing through the universe at the speed of light. Source: The Coming Crisi...

Read More........→June 30, 2012

Scientists discover 'tropical' lake of methane near equator of Saturn's largest moon Titan

Scientists have discovered a methane-rich tropical lake and several ponds near the equator of Saturn's largest moon Titan. Lakes were previously spied near Titan's polar regions but it was previously believed that bodies of liquid could not exist at Titan's midsection because energy from the sun at those latitudes would cause methane pools to evaporate. 'This discovery was completely unexpected because lakes are not stable at tropical latitudes,' said planetary scientist Caitlin Griffith of the University of Arizona, who led the discovery team. By measuring reflected sunlight from Titan's surface and atmosphere, the internation...

Read More........→June 28, 2012

Scientists Identify Difference Between Love And Lust In The Brain

Is it love or lust? A new study co-authored by Concordia University professor Jim Pfaus shows that in the human brain you can't have one without the other. "No one has ever put these two together to see the patterns of activation," said Pfaus, whose study showed an overlap in the areas of the brain that are stimulated by love and by sexual desire. The psychology professor explained that the brain can't divorce love from reward and desire. "It really grows out of it. And you need desire there to keep the love alive." Along with researchers in the U.S. and Switzerland, Pfaus looked at the results from 20 different studies that examined brain activity as subjects looked at exotic pictures and photos of their partners. Researchers found that in each case the photos activated areas of the striatum, which is located inside the forebrain. According to the study, the area of the striatum that's triggered by sexual desire is usually activated by things that are naturally pleasurable, such as food or sex, while the area triggered by love is conditioned by moments linked to rewards or pleasures. "When we have love at first sight, is there ever a time that we don't want to consummate that love by having sex? I don't think so," Pfaus told CTVNews.ca However, he noted that love and desire affect the brain in very different ways....

Read More........→June 24, 2012

Scientists create world’s smallest hard drive from just 96 atoms

Nanotechnology deals in making or developing materials, devices or structures by manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale. It is very diverse. Now, scientists from IBM and German Center for Free-Electron Laser service have invented the world’s smallest hard drive with the help of nanotechnology. Scientists have just used 96 atoms to create data worth one byte. Drives used today at least require half a billion atoms for each byte. It won’t be long when one would find hard drive of the size of rice grains, and music players wou...

Read More........→June 23, 2012

Swiss scientists create mind controlled robot for disabled patients

A team of scientists at Switzerland's École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne have developed a robot that can be controlled using only your mind. The new technology involve a quadriplegic man wearing cap to record his brain signals, which were then transferred to a small wheeled robot that he could move left and right simply by thinking it. While the technology has the potential to give immobile patients the ability to see areas outside of their hospital bed. There are a few issues that still need to be addressed. Major among them is the fact that the system requires complete concentration — if you get distracted in any way the signal will degrade. In order to combat this the research team is hoping to make the technology work more like a human brain. So if you give it a command to walk, for instance, the robot will keep doing so until you either tell it to stop or it hits some sort of obstacle. According to the creators, a home version could be ready in "a matter of years." Source: Bisarbea...

Read More........→May 02, 2012