The Sperminator

No, this isn't about Arnold.

Researchers in Australia announced successful results in a year-long trial of an injectable hormonal contraceptive for men, using a subdermal testosterone implant replaced every four months and injections of the female hormone progestin given every three months. The study followed 55 couples that used no other forms of birth control for a year. No pregnancies occurred while on the trial and, more importantly, the side effects were low and the contraceptive effect quickly reversible.

Police officer Chris Hains, from south-west Sydney, joined the trial in 2000 after his wife Nicole was having problems with taking Depo-Provera, a contraceptive injection given every three months. Every three to four months, doctors implanted testosterone under Mr Hains's abdominal skin under local anaesthetic. Apart from the discomfort of the incision, Mr Hains said the only side-effect was increased libido: "From my point of view it had a positive side-effect," he said. About seven months after leaving the trial, Mrs Hains fell pregnant with now four-month-old son, Connor.

David Handelsman, the lead researcher, says a male contraceptive pill is still a long ways off, but this is a good step down the road toward it. He also announced promising research into a male "morning after" emergency contraception pill that changes men's blood types. [wink]