One Shot Makes Monkeys Shoot Blanks.

The article focuses on reports promising preliminary results for its new contraceptive vaccine for males. Reproductive biologist Michael O' Rand of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, crafted the vaccine after reporting his discovery of a novel male-only protein in 2001. The researchers injected nine monkeys with human Eppin protein and gave six monkeys a sham vaccine. None of the seven vaccinated monkeys managed to impregnate a female. Although the contraceptive effect of the vaccine was intended to be reversible, only five of the seven vaccinated monkeys, some of whom received the vaccine for nearly 2 years, recovered their fertility during the study.