The first male birth control pills appeared, their effectiveness is 99%

Scientists from the University of Minnesota in the United States told at a meeting of the American Chemical Society that they found

a compound that could potentially pave the way for male contraceptives.They work in much the same way as female oral contraceptives. 

New non-hormonal pill destroys protein -retinoic acid receptor alpha (RAR-α), involved in sperm formation. Tests on mice have confirmed that it effectively prevents pregnancy without noticeable side effects.

During the work, the team examined about 100compounds to see how well they can inhibit RAR-α in cells. During experiments on mice, the authors used the compound GPHR-529, which dramatically reduced the number of spermatozoa. As a result, its efficiency was 99%.

Four to six weeks after taking the drug, the male mice were able to impregnate the female again: the drugHowever, the authors note that mice have significantly fewer sperm than humans. 

In the next phase of the work, the researchers plan to conduct human clinical trials of GPHR-529, which are scheduled to be completed by mid-2023. 

Read more:

"James Webb" took the clearest photo of a star in history

Quantum charging will allow record-breaking fast charging of electric vehicles

NASA photographed the Chinese Zhurong rover from orbit