Scientists developing potential non-hormonal approach to female contraception

Miami, Florida – According to Dr. Xiomara Martinez with South Miami OB/GYN Associates, researchers have uncovered a way to utilize monoclonal antibodies to effectively immobilize sperm before it reaches an egg.

“This is very different because it’s very potent, it’s 99% effective in lab trials right now and it means less of the drug will be required to produce the desired effect which is as a birth control,” she said.

Monoclonal antibodies are known for their ability to fight off invading germs, Martinez said. Making them useful to treat and prevent everything from cancer to COVID-19.

Martinez said this new approach to birth control could be available within the next few years, if the study at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill continues to show promise.

A study by the National Institutes of Health is shining a light on the origins of lung cancer in people who never smoked.

According to researchers, different subtypes of lung cancer are found in nonsmokers which have distinct molecular characteristics.

Researchers found that 10-20% of people who develop lung cancer have never smoked, and the disease more commonly affects women at an earlier age than cancer found in smokers.