Non-hormonal birth control pill for men slated for take-off in Indonesia.

I suspect the enzyme partly dissolves some part of the egg, or helps the sperm take in glucose for energy.

If you have ever watched the videos made of sperm penetrating an egg, they really have to fight like heck to get in. I would like to *See* what this attempt looks like when the man has taken this plant. (To those with crude thoughts, no I do not want to see *THAT*. I want to see the video of the sperm itself trying to penetrate the egg via a microscope.)

 

The leaves inhibits this enzyma : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyaluronidase#Role_in_fertilization

It basically dissolves the ovula's outer "wall".

So a man who's taken the leaves would pretty much have his spermatozoons bumping on the ovula without going in... None of them.

 

@Omni: The issue with 'selective breeding' is that where do you draw the line? I have myopia, 100% inherited, but it makes 0 difference to my life. How about Gilbert's, which has very minor issues (based on brief wiki). How about if they have a recessive gene for something you lack? There's a 50% chance any given kid *loses* the recessive gene. Anyway, that's enough on that - maybe we should take this to PMs if we need to discuss it further.

Re: The Plant: I wager it works, but has some horrendous side affect which isn't apparent until its mainstream.

 

I invite you and anyone else interested into a PM about it. How do PMs work here? Can there be more than just two involved? Like a thread for those who opt into the fray?

 

Anyone who wants to start a conversation about any of this, please use the "Allow anyone in the conversation to invite others" part so everyone who wants in can be invited.

I have made no such thread about any of this yet. I will post here if one is made so others can ask to join and be invited.

 

There is a conversation going and anyone who wants in is welcome, so long as they are not "Unfit" for dialog. (That is an on-topic joke, BTW.)

Just post here and say anything to the effect of "I would like to join." and I or another involved will promptly invite you.

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/03/male-birth-control-reversible_n_1400708.html

Necro, but important update from another angle - India, this time.

Male contraception injection, effective for up to 10 years. Injection into vas defrens, destroys sperm. 15 minute procedure, 100% effective, 100% reversible within two to three months. Clinical trials in US expected to begin this year, hopefully on market by 2015.

Always good to have another layer of protection to prevent people not reproducing when they don't want to.

 

Now we just need to get a quick and dirty version that can be applied via foods and drinks. I am a believer that stupid people should never breed, nor should those with genetic defects that cannot currently be cured. (Do not take that as an insult if you have a genetic disorder. I am a Bi-Polar Insulin-Dependant Diabetic. Those two are each good enough reason for me to *NEVER* reproduce. If I felt a strong desire to be a father, I could always straighten my life out and adopt, after all.)

Ten years effectivity? How can they possibly even make an educated guess about that sort of thing?

Hopefully this will be a great gift to the world. No more people having to be born with awful diseases and disorders because their parents were foolish enough to believe that science will fix all the problems in the world and we will all live together in a peaceful utopia with flying cars and infinite energy that was never weaponized...

I will shut up now.

 

The article does say they've been testing it for 25 years and some men have been using it for over 15, so by using it and finding out, I imagine.

Also, as a side note we seem to share very similar views on reproduction.

 

When in doubt, !!science.

As long as this doesn't go the way of gossypol when they experimented with that, at least.

 

The article does say they have been testing for 25 years. But that is more than two thirds of my lifetime and I never heard about this. Frankly I rather doubt the claims of that article.

 

You may google it if you wish, the name it's going under right now is Vasalgel, I believe. As far as I understand it, it's an electrically charged polymer that blocks the vas defrens, and any sperm that might slip by are destroyed by the electric charge. Reversibility is provided by another injection which dissolves the polymer and disperses the charge; it's worked in animals and the handful of men who wanted to opt out of the Indian clinical trials.

Stage 3 clinical trials are currently being held in India, and there's a small NPO trying to get it to the US as the moment. The problem is that big pharma is probably not going to be in support of it, since it's long-lasting and doesn't create repeat customers like the Pill or condoms do.

 

no poo poo, considering how $ale$ drive big pharma's control over just about everything. Why introduce something that's more convenient and a better option overall for the end user when you can make mega $$ just by letting the status quo remain as it is? This is also why nobody allows for subsidizing the cocktail of drugs they make you take if you end up getting cancer. Sure they're losing legal battles over the availability of generic drugs but that might not last for good (so sue me, I'm a pessimist as far as that worldview is concerned.)

 

It currently doesn't exist outside of India. Do you make an effort to keep up to date with every scientific advance in every country in the world?

 

Yes. I read ever word you type too. And I saw what you wrote on those bathroom walls too.

 

Call me paranoid and a conspiracy theorist, but it's not just big pharma that's against the idea. Plenty of political and special interest groups against the idea, too, at least, according to Dr. Elsimar Coutinho, a Brazilian endocrinologist and a human reproduction scientist:

 

One thing I hate about blaming big pharma on everything that goes wrong when it comes to our health, is that it isn't precisely big pharma that is to blame, but everyone who potentially gives in to the profit motive (and not just monetary gain, but all sorts of gain) over ethical considerations. Pharmaceutical companies, because of their size and wealth and, consequently, political power, can certainly make a handy target, any time you swing a dead cat. But the truth is, there are problems everywhere, from the health food industry to doctors and other medical interests, to politicians and religious institutions. You have some governments claiming that HIV doesn't exist, people selling books telling people not to vaccinate their children, and on and on and on.

'Big Pharma' certainly does their share of bad, but there are a lot of smaller players making improportionately big splashes, such that often if you want to make a dent, you are better off pointing fingers at (simply because making a difference is a lot easier). I don't mean that we should not point out when they are acting in a way that is not in our best interest, only that you should not ignore the other players in these kinds of harmful games, because sometimes other people are often LITERALLY getting away with murder.

 

BTW, coincidentally, I just glanced at one of my favorite websites, and this was the latest story -- and in this case, it's NOT big pharma that is to blame:
http://doubtfulnews.com/2012/10/rep...s-to-cure-or-treat-diseases-with-no-evidence/

Last week (?) I mentioned the FDA not being able to regulate certain things -- well here's an example of EXACTLY what I was talking about. And it actually can be worse than this, as some herbal remedies can either be dangerous on their own, can contain toxic substances (see ayurvedic medicine), or can react badly with other medications or herbs.