Biochemistry/Biophysics

Surveys show most men in the United States are interested in using male contraceptives, yet their options remain limited to condoms or invasive vasectomies. Recent attempts to develop drugs that block sperm production, maturation, or fertilization have had limited success, providing incomplete protection or negative side effects. New approaches to male contraception are needed, but because sperm development is so complex, researchers have struggled to identify parts of the process that can be safely and effectively tinkered with. Now, Professor Ronald Evans, senior staff scientist Michael Downes, staff researcher Suk-Hyon Hong, and colleagues have found a new method of interrupting sperm production that is both non-hormonal and reversible. In a recent study, they demonstrated that treating male mice with an existing class of drugs, called HDAC (histone deacetylase) inhibitors, can interrupt the function of this protein complex and block fertility without affecting libido. The team hopes to see this therapeutic approach advanced to human clinical trials soon.

Telomeres—the protective endcaps on our chromosomes—shorten as we age, eventually getting so whittled down that our DNA becomes exposed, and our cells die. However, the specifics of when and how this happens, and whether certain chromosomes are more affected than others, have been unclear—until now. Professor and CSO Jan Karlseder, postdoctoral researcher Tobias Schmidt, and colleagues teamed up with Oxford Nanopore Technologies to develop Telo-seq, a groundbreaking method for determining the precise length and entire sequence of telomeres on each individual human chromosome. They have already used the tool to discover features of telomere biology that were unobservable with previous methods. Telo-seq will facilitate a flurry of new insights into the molecular dynamics of cancer and aging, which will likely inspire future telomere-targeting therapeutics.