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Home > Augmentation > Genetic Engineering May Offer the Solution to Finally Create Male Birth Control

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Home›Augmentation›Genetic Engineering May Offer the Solution to Finally Create Male Birth Control

Genetic Engineering May Offer the Solution to Finally Create Male Birth Control

By M. Christian
January 28, 2018
3570
1

Could CRISPR give men a biological off-switch for fertility?

CRISPR, the new technique of altering genes in both fully formed organisms as well as in fetuses, has received a lot of exciting press coverage.

Scientists propose it could be used to treat several conditions including congenital blindness as well as high cholesterol by altering the genes responsible.

As reported in Discover, there are even suggestions the technique could also be used to create a genetic option for male birth control.

Creating gene-based male birth control

The idea took root after researchers at Michigan State University reported the discovery of a gene that plays an essential role in sperm development.

Already scientists have used CRISPR to remove this gene in mice, resulting in their infertility.

Beyond having diminished testis in the mice, there don’t appear to be any side effects. This is extremely good news as many other approaches to male birth control have taken a hormonal approach, which can be tricky to balance correctly.

A pair of potential problems

Before using gene suppression to suppress male fertility, there are first two key issues to be overcome.

The lesser of these are questions of whether or not this CRISPR approach is reversible.

Right now, even the surgical option of a vasectomy can often be undone. This means that if a gene technique cannot be switched back it would be an all-or-nothing option and so a much harder sell to men.

The final concern is that a team of Stanford University researchers has released findings that 65% to 79% of human test subjects rejected the two common strains of the bacteria that are key to CRISPRs functionality.

While the Stanford results might seem to be a setback, it’s important to note that it hasn’t yet been peer-reviewed and even if their findings are confirmed there could be other CRISPR methods to be explored.

A sexually free future

If these two hurdles are overcome, and if the procedure passes human trials, this could mean a profound change in not just how we view birth control but also human sexuality.

Playing Nostradamus, let’s imagine a society where once a boy enters puberty he undergoes a gene procedure rendering him infertile.

This means that he would be able to explore all kinds of consensual opposite sex experiences without concerns for undesired pregnancies on the part of female partners.

This would also mean that, if these procedures become common, women would finally be freed of the constant responsibility for birth control. There’s even a chance that there might come a time when we will also discover a fertility gene in women that also be turned on and off at will.

This all could mean that even the concept of an unwanted child would be extinct, as men and women would be have to make a conscious decision to become fertile.

While it is essential to approach genetic engineering with trepidation it is equally important to see its positive potential.

Not the least of which that it could someday lead to a world where a child is always a choice and never an accident.

Image sources: Mike Towber, Andy Leppard, Steve Johnson

M. Christian

M.Christian (they/them) loves nothing better than exploring the intersections of sex and technology—and speculating on the future of both. A highly regarded erotica writer they have six novels,12 collections, 100+ short stories, and 25 anthologies as an editor to their name. Their non-fiction regularly appears in many sites, but they're most proud of being a regular contributor to Future of Sex.

Of their erotic fiction, Tristan Taormino said that “M.Christian is a literary stylist of the highest caliber: smart, funny, frightening, sexy—there's nothing [they] can't write about… and brilliantly.”

Reflecting their unique ability to sympathetically and convincingly write for a range of genders and sexual orientations, their stories have appeared in multiple editions of Best American Erotica, Best Gay Erotica, Best Lesbian Erotica, The Mammoth Books of Erotica, and others. Their collection of gay erotic fiction, Dirty Words, was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award.

While a majority of their stories have been collected into books like Dirty Words, their fondness for combining sex and science fiction is clearly evident in collections that include Rude Mechanicals, Technorotica, Better Than The Real Thing, Skin Effect Effect, Bachelor Machine, and Hard Drive: The Best Sci-Fi Erotica of M.Christian.

As a novelist, M.Christian’s versatility is on full display with Running Dry, The Very Bloody Marys, Brushes, Painted Doll; and the somewhat controversial queer BDSM/horror/thrillers Finger's Breadth, and Me2.

M.Christian has worked on the industry’s production side as an Associate Publisher for Renaissance E Books and as a Publisher for Digital Parchment Services. The latter dedicated to celebrating the works of science-fiction legends such as William Rotsler, Jerome Bixby, Jody Scott, Arthur Byron Cover, Ernest Hogan, and James Van Hise.

Covering topics like BDSM safety, sexual education, senior sexuality concerns, queer and gender issues, plus reviewing a variety of sex tech products, M.Christian’s non-fiction has appeared on sites like Kinkly, Tickle.Life, Sexpert, Queer Majority, Sex for Every Body, and—of course—their ongoing work for Future of Sex.

If there’s anything M.Christian enjoys more than writing, it’s teaching. A featured presenter, sometimes with their friend Ralph Greco Jr, at national sex and BDSM events, they have lectured on kink play (with an emphasis on safety), polyamory, boosting sexual creativity, and erotica writing--for beginners or those wanting to go pro.

M.Christian is a cohost on two popular sex-education podcasts: Love’s Outer Limits with Dr. Amy Marsh and Licking Non-Vanilla with Ralph Greco, Jr.
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