Is this an inevtion or what?
VASECTOMIES could be a thing of the past thanks to Australian scientists who are developing a remote-controlled contraceptive implant for men.
The device stops and starts the flow of sperm with the push of a button, similar to locking a car with a key fob.
Researchers at the University of Adelaide say the valve would remain shut most of the time to act as a contraceptive barrier.
A man would use the remote control to open the valve and allow the sperm to pass through when he and his partner wanted to conceive.
The implant, still in laboratory testing, would provide a much-needed alternative to vasectomy, a surgical procedure not easily reversed if a man changes his mind.
Australia has one of the highest vasectomy rates in the developed world.
A Marie Stopes International (MSI) survey of 1000 men in 2005 found 29 per cent of men aged 40 to 49 and 34 per cent of men aged 50 to 59 had had the procedure.
MSI acting chief executive Jill Michelson said women tended to bear the burden of preventing unwanted pregnancies and men needed to take more responsibility.
"Any new form of contraception is always a good thing," she said.
The implant being devised by the team of biomedical engineers is made from a specially coated silicone-based material to reduce the risk of infection or rejection by the body.
No larger than a grain of rice, it would be inserted into the vas deferens - the duct which carries sperm from each testicle to the penis - using a hypodermic needle.
A transmitter outside the body would send a coded radio frequency pulse to an ID tag inside the body, causing the valve to open and close in response to a unique code.
Project founder Professor Derek Abbott said the valve didn't need a battery as the energy comes from the radio signal.
But he said after a while the valve may clog with protein and remain shut, rendering the man permanently infertile.
PILL:
Forty-year-old Scott Hardin says hes glad that men may soon have a new choice when it comes to birth control. But, he adds, he would not even consider taking a male hormonal contraceptive. Hardin is like many men who are pleased to hear they may have a new option but are wary of taking any type of hormones.
I would rather rely on a solution that doesnt involving medicating myself and the problems women have had with hormone therapy doesnt make me anxious to want to sign on to taking a hormone-type therapy, says Hardin, who is single and a college administrator.
For the first time, a safe, effective and reversible hormonal male contraceptive appears to be within reach. Several formulations are expected to become commercially available within the near future. Men may soon have the options of a daily pill to be taken orally, a patch or gel to be applied to the skin, an injection given every three months or an implant placed under the skin every 12 months, according to Seattle researchers.
It largely depends on how funding continues. The technology is there. We know how it would work, says Dr. Andrea Coviello, who is helping to test several male contraceptives at the Population Center for Research in Reproduction at the University of Washington in Seattle.
Coviello and her colleagues have found that a male contraceptive that releases testosterone over three months is potentially a safe and practical method of contraception. The Seattle researchers have been testing a sustained-released, testosterone micro-capsule, which consists of a thick liquid administered by injection under the skin.
I never had any real noticeable side effects. I didnt notice any mood changes. I may have put on a little weight, says Larry Setlow, a 39-year-old computer programmer with a small software company in Seattle. He has taken part in three male hormonal contraceptive clinical trials at the University of Washington and has received both pills and injections.
They all worked really well and I was able to look at my lab results and see my sperm count drop to zero, says Setlow.
My opinion: I think all of this is great but honestly i'm not sure if I could believe every man that says I turned my switch off baby. If you're husband and wife its fine but for those of us who are having pre-marital sex it just might not cut it. I can imagine then men that would use that as a reason as why we shouldn't use a condom. So what if you've been tested. How am I supposed to believe you didn't steal this remote from someone else? Bottom line is that I still would use birth control because you could very well be lying. This is great for a couple who already has 2 or 3 kids and those men who fuck those women from the projects who already have like 10 kids should be the first to jump on board. There's nothing wrong with the projects but there are some women with quite a few kids.
P.S. I don't wanna seem to harsh on men for not believing them when they say they're "on the remote" and I do understand that just like I don't trust men that men may not trust women when they say they're on birth control too.
VASECTOMIES could be a thing of the past thanks to Australian scientists who are developing a remote-controlled contraceptive implant for men.
The device stops and starts the flow of sperm with the push of a button, similar to locking a car with a key fob.
Researchers at the University of Adelaide say the valve would remain shut most of the time to act as a contraceptive barrier.
A man would use the remote control to open the valve and allow the sperm to pass through when he and his partner wanted to conceive.
The implant, still in laboratory testing, would provide a much-needed alternative to vasectomy, a surgical procedure not easily reversed if a man changes his mind.
Australia has one of the highest vasectomy rates in the developed world.
A Marie Stopes International (MSI) survey of 1000 men in 2005 found 29 per cent of men aged 40 to 49 and 34 per cent of men aged 50 to 59 had had the procedure.
MSI acting chief executive Jill Michelson said women tended to bear the burden of preventing unwanted pregnancies and men needed to take more responsibility.
"Any new form of contraception is always a good thing," she said.
The implant being devised by the team of biomedical engineers is made from a specially coated silicone-based material to reduce the risk of infection or rejection by the body.
No larger than a grain of rice, it would be inserted into the vas deferens - the duct which carries sperm from each testicle to the penis - using a hypodermic needle.
A transmitter outside the body would send a coded radio frequency pulse to an ID tag inside the body, causing the valve to open and close in response to a unique code.
Project founder Professor Derek Abbott said the valve didn't need a battery as the energy comes from the radio signal.
But he said after a while the valve may clog with protein and remain shut, rendering the man permanently infertile.
PILL:
Forty-year-old Scott Hardin says hes glad that men may soon have a new choice when it comes to birth control. But, he adds, he would not even consider taking a male hormonal contraceptive. Hardin is like many men who are pleased to hear they may have a new option but are wary of taking any type of hormones.
I would rather rely on a solution that doesnt involving medicating myself and the problems women have had with hormone therapy doesnt make me anxious to want to sign on to taking a hormone-type therapy, says Hardin, who is single and a college administrator.
For the first time, a safe, effective and reversible hormonal male contraceptive appears to be within reach. Several formulations are expected to become commercially available within the near future. Men may soon have the options of a daily pill to be taken orally, a patch or gel to be applied to the skin, an injection given every three months or an implant placed under the skin every 12 months, according to Seattle researchers.
It largely depends on how funding continues. The technology is there. We know how it would work, says Dr. Andrea Coviello, who is helping to test several male contraceptives at the Population Center for Research in Reproduction at the University of Washington in Seattle.
Coviello and her colleagues have found that a male contraceptive that releases testosterone over three months is potentially a safe and practical method of contraception. The Seattle researchers have been testing a sustained-released, testosterone micro-capsule, which consists of a thick liquid administered by injection under the skin.
I never had any real noticeable side effects. I didnt notice any mood changes. I may have put on a little weight, says Larry Setlow, a 39-year-old computer programmer with a small software company in Seattle. He has taken part in three male hormonal contraceptive clinical trials at the University of Washington and has received both pills and injections.
They all worked really well and I was able to look at my lab results and see my sperm count drop to zero, says Setlow.
My opinion: I think all of this is great but honestly i'm not sure if I could believe every man that says I turned my switch off baby. If you're husband and wife its fine but for those of us who are having pre-marital sex it just might not cut it. I can imagine then men that would use that as a reason as why we shouldn't use a condom. So what if you've been tested. How am I supposed to believe you didn't steal this remote from someone else? Bottom line is that I still would use birth control because you could very well be lying. This is great for a couple who already has 2 or 3 kids and those men who fuck those women from the projects who already have like 10 kids should be the first to jump on board. There's nothing wrong with the projects but there are some women with quite a few kids.
P.S. I don't wanna seem to harsh on men for not believing them when they say they're "on the remote" and I do understand that just like I don't trust men that men may not trust women when they say they're on birth control too.