Gene Editing: The Path to a Male Contraceptive?

(Credit: Africa Studio/Shutterstock) The search for a suitable male contraceptive has been long and mostly fruitless. Though ideas ranging from hormonal treatments to plugs inserted into the vas deferens have been proposed, none has yet made it to market, and men still rely on either condoms or vasectomies to prevent unwanted pregnancies. A new method interferes with genes responsible for creating new sperm, which could be a more attractive approach. Snipping out a gene that regulates a key process in the maturation of sperm in mice renders them infertile, found researchers from Michigan State University, a discovery that could pave a path for a male contraceptive based on gene editing.