It’s getting there.

Via The Daily Mail:

Scientists have discovered a substance that can temporarily block the development of sperm without altering testosterone levels and without causing unwanted side effects.

They hope human trials of a new contraceptive for men based on their discovery could begin within a few years.
[...]
Adherin on its own is known to have toxic effects on the body, but the team overcame this problem by ensuring it would only attach to one cell in the body – the Sertoli cells.

The team tested it on vital organs such as the kidneys, liver, heart and brain, and found it had no harmful side effects.

Dr Cheng and his team hope their finding will lead to a male contraceptive – although say it is likely to be an implant rather than a pill as the tablet would be broken down in the digestive tract.

Dr Cheng said the approach taken by other researchers of using hormone-based contraceptives was not wrong. However he said it was important to give people a choice.

Earlier this year researchers working on a hormonal-based male contraceptive said an implant or injection could be available within five years.

Another study, published in the Lancet found that men given a hormonal-based contraceptive drug saw their sperm count return to normal just over three months after they stopped using it.

Founder of Grameen Bank wins Nobel Peace Prize

Via seattletimes:

Bangladeshi economist Muhammad Yunus and his Grameen Bank won the Nobel Peace Prize today for their pioneering use of tiny, seemingly insignificant loans — microcredit — to lift millions out of poverty.

Through Yunus’s efforts and those of the bank he founded, poor people around the world, especially women, have been able to buy cows, a few chickens or the cell phone they desperately needed to get ahead.

The 65-year-old economist said he would use part of his share of the $1.4 million award money to create a company to make low-cost, high-nutrition food for the poor. The rest would go toward setting up an eye hospital for the poor in Bangladesh, he said.

Interesting Tucker Carlson quote

CARLSON: It goes deeper than that though. The deep truth is that the elites in the Republican Party have pure contempt for the evangelicals who put their party in power. Everybody in . . .

MATTHEWS: How do you know that? How do you know that?

CARLSON: Because I know them. Because I grew up with them. Because I live with them. They live on my street. Because I live in Washington, and I know that everybody in our world has contempt for the evangelicals. And the evangelicals know that, and they’re beginning to learn that their own leaders sort of look askance at them and don’t share their values.

MATTHEWS: So this gay marriage issue and other issues related to the gay lifestyle are simply tools to get elected?

CARLSON: That’s exactly right. It’s pandering to the base in the most cynical way, and the base is beginning to figure it out.

[Source]

Generic drug update: 7 drugs

Now available as a generic:

Zoloft (sertraline hydrochloride)

Zocor (simvastatin)

Proscar (finasteride)

MiraLax (Polyethylene glycol 3350)

Lamictal (lamotrigine) — 25 mg strength only

Available soon (on preorder):

Seasonale (ethinyl estradiol and levonorgestrel) — I think the first generic version that’s going to be available is called Jolessa

Sort of available as a generic:

Plavix (clopidogrel bisulfate) — Sanofi-Aventis has tied this one up in the courts, so generic plavix was on the market for only a very short time. Now it can’t be purchased from our suppliers till probably after January ‘07. Some drug stores stockpiled several bottles while it was still available; others didn’t realize it was going to be pulled off the market almost as quickly as it was put on. If you’re on plavix, it would be a good idea to call your drug store and find out if they’ve stocked up.