How much longer until there’s a male birth control pill?

RJ Hamster

2 years ago

Monday, March 6, 2023

In today’s newsletter, we look at the next steps in birth control for men, find a secret tunnel in Egypt’s Grand Pyramid, climb to a grizzly bear feeding frenzy, discover the Kingdom of Kush … and look at a drug that just might reverse arthritis.

MICROGRAPH BY D. PHILLIPS, SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

The Pill went on the market for women in the 1960s. And the male contraception pill? Researchers would joke that it was “a couple years away for 50 years.”

But now, new forms of birth control for men finally seem within reach. And not just male hormonal pills, but gels and implants. Many of these developing products are more convenient and foolproof than condoms or easily reversed than vasectomies.

What’s the status of these advancements? And will men share sexual responsibility?

Read the full story here. (Pictured above, sperm swimming around an egg.)

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STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

PHOTOGRAPH BY KENNETH GARRET, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTIONS

Secret tunnel confirmed in Egypt’s Great Pyramid (above, the Great Pyramids of Giza.)

Talk about a glow up: These mushrooms steal the nightly show in Brazil’s other rainforest

Georgia could get its first national park—on Indigenous sacred ground

They rode ’em cowboy—5,000 years ago

A drug that could reverse arthritis?

These animals can sniff out cancer

Sex-addled? Maybe. Vengeful and violent? Without doubt. Meet Rome’s most dangerous woman.

The shipwreck China kept secret for decades

Now we know about the real dog who saved an Alaskan town

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

PHOTOGRAPH BY STEVEN GNAM

Tiny moths, big bears: When silvery moths migrate to the Northern Rockies to gorge on flowers, the grizzlies climb thousands of feet uphill to meet—and eat—them. A grizzly can feast on tens of thousands of these army cutworm moths a day. But as more and more hikers head into the mountains, they risk scaring the grizzlies off prime eating grounds—or even putting themselves in danger, Douglas Mainreports. (Pictured above, a grizzly takes a pause from digging.)

WHERE THE GRIZZLIES ARE

PHOTO OF THE DAY

PHOTOGRAPH BY NICHOLE SOBECKI

The land of Kush: Sudan’s turbulent modern-day leadershjip has its youth turning on its historical past, specifically the little-known kingdom of Kush, Nat Geo reports. Explorer Nichole Sobecki shows schoolchildren gathering (above) in front of ancient pyramid tombs at the capital of Meroë where Kushite kings and queens are found. Constructing about 255 pyramids, the Kushites built nearly twice the number Egypt erected.

LAST GLIMPSE

PHOTOGRAPH BY ANDRÉ DIB, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

What’s an arapaima? “While most large-bodied animal species are declining, it’s the opposite trend [for the arapaima],” said Nat Geo Explorer João Campos-Silva(pictured), a Brazilian scientist working to protect the Amazon and its species.

Arapaima—fish found in the Amazon that can grow to 10 feet in length and 450 pounds in weight—have come back from extinction at a rate of 600 percent in the last 11 years.

Learn more about Campos-Silva’s work.

SEE THIS MASSIVE ANIMAL

Today’s soundtrack: On The Amazon, Don McLean

Today’s newsletter was curated and edited by Jen Tse, Hannah Farrow, and David Beard. Have an idea or link to a story you think is right down our alley? Let us know at david.beard@natgeo.com. Happy trails!

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