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We live in a very crowded world, were resources are almost stretched to the limit and the basic human instinct of creating new life is hardly curbed (unless if you're in China).
Men and women alike have been provided by science / medicine the choice to cease the process of procreating new broods which go beyond their means of providing adequately but some view it as taboo or simply painful and expensive at times.
Mostly it is the men who go under the knife to severe the part that is the root of all evil (not that part luckily) but others view it as too invasive or cut’s short ones masculine side. Some who went under the knife had a reversal of fortunes when nature or evolution simply took its course to repair the damage done. But now, dose of ultrasound to the testicles can stop the production of sperm, according to researchers investigating a new form of contraception.
A study on rats published in Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology showed that sound waves could be used to reduce sperm counts to levels that would cause infertility in humans.
Researchers described ultrasound as a "promising candidate" in contraception.
However, far more tests are required before it could be used. The concept was first proposed in the 1970s, but is now being pursued by researchers at the University of North Carolina who won a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
They found that two, 15-minute doses "significantly reduced" the number of sperm producing cells and sperm levels. It was most effective when delivered two days apart and through warm salt water. In humans, the researchers said men were considered to be "sub-fertile" when sperm counts dropped below 15 million sperm per mL. The sperm count in rats dropped to below 10 million sperm per mL.
Lead researcher Dr James Tsuruta said that further studies are required to determine how long the contraceptive effect lasts and if it is safe to use multiple times. The team needs to ensure that the ultrasound produces a reversible effect, contraception not sterilization. As well as investigate whether there would be cumulative damage from repeated doses.
But there is also a downside to the procedure since it was still likely that there would be recovery of sperm production, and that the sperm might be damaged and any baby might be damaged because of it when sperm production resumed.
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