PopSci Q&A: The Quest for a Male Contraceptive
Contraceptive Daniel Schumpert John Amory, a doctor at the University of Washington, has been developing a male contraceptive for 15 years. Turns out, it's harder than it sounds. We spoke with him to find out why. PopSci: Why is it taking so long to produce a birth-control pill for men? John Amory: Women make one egg a month, but men make 1,000 sperm every second of every day, from puberty until the day they die. Turning that off is difficult. PS: How does hormone contraception work? JA: If you give a man enough testosterone, the brain will shut down the secretion of gonadotropins, which are the hormones that signal the testes to make sperm. This is why most bodybuilders are infertile, by the way. But it doesn't work in all men. PS: How many men does testosterone work for? JA: We have never been able to get more...