Radio controlled male contraceptive developed
30 Jan 2008 | 09:12 GMT
What could possibly go wrong?
AUSSIE boffins have developed a radio controlled contraceptive implant which can switch a cobber's flow of sperm on and off with the flick of a button.
According to New Scientist, a radio device is placed inside the duct which carries sperm from each testicle. When the off button is pressed the flow of sperm is stopped.
The device is a silicone-polymer valve which allows a set of conducting " fingers" to act as antennae and convert the signal's energy into sound waves that travel through the polymer and create stresses inside the device.
Team leader Said Al-Sarawi said that that the on-off button would be stored at your local doctors so that it would not be set off by mistake.
We would have thought this would mean that anyone within a 10 metre radius of a doctor's surgery, including the doctor, in they were male, might suddenly find themselves fertile. There is also the possibly that radio pulses from other devices might interfere with your testicles.
Apparently to fix this problem the device works like a car's remote key-fob with each valve responds only to a radio-frequency signal with a unique code. Given that these sometimes can be opened, we wouldn't fancy your chances if you take your testicles through an x-ray scanner at Heathrow.
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