Scientists have developed a method to temporarily halt the production of sperm cells without damaging surrounding tissues, an advance that could lead to a safe, long-acting and reversible male contraceptive .

Existing contraceptive methods are mostly female-centred or permanent. Since there are few effective male contraceptive options that are reversible, men rely mainly on condoms and vasectomies .

While vasectomy offers a long-term solution and can be reversed, many men are hesitant to undergo the procedure. This, in large part, is why developing non-hormonal methods that can temporarily halt sperm production is considered the holy grail of contraceptive research.

Now a proof-of-concept study conducted on mice over six years shows that interrupting a natural checkpoint in meiosis, the process responsible for producing sex cells, can temporarily halt sperm production.

Researchers found that JQ1, a small molecule originally developed as a research tool for studying cancer, could interfere with a specific…