Alternative to the Pill Has No Side Effects

Contraception without the nausea, headaches, mood swings, weight gain, or heart attacks? Scientists are developing a non-hormonal patch that would side-step the side effects associated with the Pill by simply blocking a protein that allows sperm to bond with egg, the Telegraph reports. But don’t get too excited—it could take a decade to develop.

“Obviously it is going to take a lot of time, but the need is there,” said one researcher, noting that contraceptives haven’t changed much since the 1950s. The patch switches off  a gene vital to conception, without affecting future conception. It won’t regulate periods, “but for women who use the Pill just as a contraceptive, a non-hormonal approach would be wonderful,” he said. (More birth control stories.)