1. A birth control pill for men is finally within reach

  A team of researchers based at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities made a stunning announcement at the spring meeting of the American Chemical Society about the potential discovery of a birth control pill for men. Medicinal chemist and study leader Gunda I. Georg said in a press conference on Wednesday that “the efficacy of the drug was about 99 percent” in tests with mice. That puts this contraceptive for men on par with similar drugs for women, which were first approved by the FDA in 1960.

  Unlike earlier attempts, the researchers targeted a form of vitamin A, not testosterone. Prior attempts at creating a birth control drug for men have targeted the male sex hormone testosterone, but those efforts were unsuccessful due to side effects like depression and increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Hence instead of looking at testosterone, the researchers behind this new study....