Scientists see breakthrough in male birth control as they find way to 'turn sperm on and off'

Scientists have unveiled a new 'blueprint' for male birth control, shattering previous understandings by providing a potential solution to 'turn sperm on and off' without any permanent or lasting damage to the individual's health.

While women have the oral contraceptive pill for a medical solution to birth control, there remains no approved equivalent for men, leaving physical contraceptives like condoms the only option.

Condoms are a vital tool – not just for preventing unwanted pregnancies but also stopping the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and health concerns – yet a 98 per cent success rate than can drop as low as 82 per cent when factoring in human error does beget an alternative solution.

Scientists have searched for decades for a medical solution that works inside the body to no avail, yet a new discovery made by researchers at Cornell University has shown incredible promise.

Researchers claim they've found a way to turn sperm 'on and off' using birth control (Getty Stock)

As reported by SciTechDaily, a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences outlines the potential for a new form of male birth control, using a 'small-molecule inhibitor' known as JQ1 to disrupt the body's meiosis.

If you're unaware, meiosis refers to the process of cell division that produces both sperm and egg cells and it's specifically split into two successive rounds of division with the new birth control aiming to impact the first.

"Meiosis represents a natural checkpoint in sperm production where transient inhibition could achieve precise and reversible fertility control," the study details, outlining the potential for treatment to disable the production of sperm cells temporarily without incurring any long-term damage.

The treatment interrupts meiosis, which is the point at which reproductive cells are created within the body (Getty Stock)

Continuing on, the study illustrates that "short term JQ1 administration (3 wk) selectively disrupted the pachytene transcriptional program, depleted postmeiotic germ cells, and induced a reversible arrest in spermatogenesis," with production returning to normal levels after 6 to 30 weeks.

Research has currently only been conducted on mice so far across a six-year period, but further testing on humans could provide a game-changing solution that was previously thought to be impossible.

"We're practically the only group that's pushing the idea that contraception targets in the testis are a feasible way to stop sperm production," explained Paula Cohen, one of the study's lead authors and professor of genetics at Cornell University.

She added that the study "shows that mostly we recover normal meiosis and complete sperm function, and more importantly, that the offspring are completely normal," which all remain vital factors in the success of an inhibitor like this, regardless of its potency in preventing contraception in the short term.