
-
Lessons and liquids: buried alive in Myanmar's earthquake
-
Trump tariffs spark fears for Asian jobs, exporting sectors
-
Stocks and dollar sink, havens rally as Trump tariffs fan trade war
-
Runners fly to North Korea for first post-Covid Pyongyang Marathon
-
Hamilton rubbishes claims he's lost faith in Ferrari
-
Nintendo Switch 2 sparks excitement despite high price
-
Sri Lanka's crackdown on dogs for India PM's visit sparks protest
-
S Korea police raise security levels ahead of impeachment verdict
-
China vows 'countermeasures' to sweeping new US tariffs
-
Trump jolts allies, foes and markets with tariff blitz
-
France says EU to target US online services after Trump tariffs
-
Tsunoda vows to bring 'something different' after Red Bull promotion
-
Verstappen not happy with Tsunoda-Lawson Red Bull swap
-
Experts accuse 54 top Nicaragua officials of grave abuses
-
Remains of 30th victim of Los Angeles fires found
-
EU to target US online services after Trump tariffs: France
-
How Trump's 'liberation day' tariffs will impact China
-
Malaysia suspends search for long-missing flight MH370
-
Search for long-missing flight MH370 suspended: Malaysia minister
-
Europe hits out at Trump tariffs, keeps door open for talks
-
Myanmar's junta chief to head to Bangkok summit as quake toll surpasses 3,000
-
Lawson vows to prove he belongs in F1 after shock of Red Bull axing
-
Australia sweats through hottest 12 months on record: official data
-
Livestock theft is central to jihadist economy in west Africa
-
South African artist champions hyenas in 'eco-queer' quest
-
Danish PM in 'unity' Greenland visit amid US takeover threats
-
Taiwan says US tariffs 'highly unreasonable'
-
Lawson says ruthless Red Bull axing was 'tough to hear'
-
Heat humble Celtics for sixth straight win, Thunder roll on
-
Trump escalates trade war with sweeping global tariffs
-
Japan says US tariffs 'extremely regrettable', may break WTO rules
-
South Koreans anxious, angry as court to rule on impeached president
-
Juve at in-form Roma with Champions League in the balance
-
Injuries put undermanned Bayern's title bid to the test
-
Ovechkin scores 892nd goal -- three away from Gretzky's NHL record
-
Australian former rugby star Petaia signs for NFL's Chargers
-
China says opposes new US tariffs, vows 'countermeasures'
-
Athletics world watching as 'Grand Slam Track' prepares for launch
-
Heat humble Celtics for sixth straight win, Cavs top Knicks
-
Quake-hit Myanmar's junta chief to head to Bangkok summit
-
New Spielberg, Nolan films teased at CinemaCon
-
Shaken NATO allies to meet Trump's top diplomat
-
Israel's Netanyahu arrives in Hungary, defying ICC warrant
-
Shiny and deadly, unexploded munitions a threat to Gaza children
-
Stocks tank, havens rally as Trump tariffs fan trade war
-
Altomare hangs on to tie defending champ Korda at LPGA Match Play
-
Paraguay gold rush leaves tea producers bitter
-
Health concerns swirl as Bolivian city drowns in rubbish
-
Syria says deadly Israeli strikes a 'blatant violation'
-
Financial markets tumble after Trump tariff announcement

Mice trial raises hopes for 'on demand' male contraceptive
If women have the "morning after" pill, could men one day have an "hour before" pill?
A new drug candidate renders male mice infertile within an hour and wears off in less than a day, an experimental study said Tuesday, potentially pointing towards a future "on-demand" male contraceptive.
The potential drug, which has not been tested in humans and remains years away from possibly becoming available, joins a growing number of male contraceptives in development.
However there are currently only two options available for men: condoms and vasectomies.
Previous drugs have struggled partly because the bar for side effects is believed to be far higher for men -- because they do not risk getting pregnant -- as well as a lack of interest from the pharmaceutical industry.
"For women, right now all the burden of contraception is on us," Melanie Balbach, a pharmacology researcher at Weill Cornell Medicine in the US, told AFP.
"We want new options," said Balbach, the lead author of the study published in Nature Communications.
The team of researchers targeted an enzyme called soluble adenylyl cyclase, which acts as the "on switch" for sperm, said study co-author Jochen Buck, also of Weill Cornell Medicine.
If the enzyme is switched off, the sperm can no longer move, he said.
Across several different tests, the researchers showed that a compound which blocks the enzyme renders mice sperm immobile in 30 minutes to an hour.
The compound was 100 percent effective in preventing pregnancy within the first two hours, dropping to 91 percent in the first three hours, the study said.
After 24 hours, the mice sperm moved like normal again.
- 'Eye-catching advantage' -
The researchers hope are aiming for a single non-hormonal pill that works in under an hour and lasts six to 12 hours, Buck said.
This would be much different to other options under development, such as a hormonal gel currently going through human trials, which all take weeks or months to start and stop working.
No side effects were noticed in the mice. Previous research has suggested that infertile men who had their soluble adenylyl cyclase enzyme permanently switched off had an increased rate of kidney stones.
Buck said this was the result of their enzyme always being off -- which would not be the case for men taking an on demand pill.
The researchers hope to hold the first trials on humans within three years, with a final product possibly up to eight years away, Buck said.
Susan Walker, an expert in contraception at the UK's Anglia Ruskin University not involved in the research, said she was a "little sceptical" a pill would actually make it to market as so many other efforts have fallen short.
But the "eye-catching advantage" of almost immediate effectiveness offered "the possibility of seeing a sexual partner take a pill," she said.
The consultancy Desire Line is working on forecasting the potential uptake of a range of male contraceptive products, according to its founder Steve Kretschmer.
"Initial estimates indicate in the United States that uptake for an on-demand pill which has quick onset of action and 1-2 days duration of action could be about triple that of Viagra when it was initially launched," he told AFP.
Y.Kobayashi--AMWN