Today’s Big Story

Ready for Male Birth Control?

After decades of attempts, scientists are more hopeful than ever

Birth control won’t just be for the ladies much longer. “We’ve been chasing this for a long time,” one NIH doctor told NBC News. “I hope we’re entering new territory.” He believes that if one male birth control drug gains approval from the FDA, pharmaceutical companies and industry investors would put more resources into other medications or products.

And that could be happening soon. On Sunday, at the Endocrine Society’s conference in Boston, researchers with the National Institutes of Health’s Contraceptive Development Program presented encouraging phase 2 trial results on a hormonal gel that blocks a man’s sperm production. NES/T—a once-daily gel applied to the shoulders—can effectively suppress men’s fertility within a matter of weeks.

How does it work exactly? Well, “NES/T” is short for the two main ingredients it carries, nestorone and testosterone. Nestorone, also known as segesterone acetate, is a synthetic version of progesterone, a hormone that plays a major role in regulating pregnancy and other reproductive functions. Nestorone and similar drugs are already used as hormonal birth control for women. When it’s given to men, the drug lowers the levels of hormones in the testes responsible for male fertility, including testosterone, which then leads to low sperm counts. But it also lowers testosterone circulating in the blood, which can counterproductively reduce men’s sex drive, among other adverse effects. By reintroducing synthetic testosterone through the gel, the goal is to maintain stable hormone levels in men’s blood, ensuring temporary sterility and minimizing side effects.

Also at the Boston conference on Sunday, YourChoice Therapeutics said a small trial in the U.K. showed that its nonhormonal pill was safe and free of side effects. The San Francisco company’s nonhormonal pill works by blocking the vitamin A receptor important for male fertility. While we’re still not likely to be able to grab a packet of these at the drugstore anytime soon, the team will move onto further testing in order to move closer to equality when it comes to birth control.

Mexico’s First Female President

From activist and climate scientist to mayor to president

The former Mexico City Mayor, Claudia Sheinbaum, became the first woman, and the first Jewish person, to be elected president of Mexico—according to an early count by the country's electoral commission on Sunday evening. This year’s election is considered the largest in the country’s history, with the highest number of voters casting ballots for the presidency and more than 20,000 local, state and federal offices at stake.

According to the Associated Press, the 61-year-old lifelong leftist ran a disciplined campaign capitalizing on her predecessor’s popularity. But with her victory now in hand, Mexicans will look to see how Sheinbaum, a very different personality from mentor and current President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, will assert herself.

With surging violence taking center stage during the election cycle, Sheinbaum has among other things promised to create a new national criminal investigations program to tackle impunity (more than 98% of crimes go unpunished or unsolved in Mexico). She’s scheduled to take office in October.

Restaurants Are Too Loud

Diners are complaining, and scientists are now looking for things we can do about it

Tom Sietsema has been the Washington Post’s food critic for the past 24 years. And he’s been recording and publishing decibel levels in his reviews since in 2008 in response to reader feedback. More than a decade later, the problem persists. Noise was the most cited complaint in Zagat’s last Dining Trends Survey, and it continues to dominate the conversation in online restaurant reviews and articles.

Interestingly, while many of us feel like eateries are getting louder, new data suggests that we simply became used to quieter surroundings during the pandemic, which could make us more aware of loud environments now. In any case, acousticians and other experts point to mounting evidence that excessive noise is more than a minor inconvenience. Our brains have a tough time sorting through the cacophony in crowded dining rooms, which can influence our behavior. Multiple studies show that prolonged exposure to noise has physical effects such as increased anxiety and fatigue. Taken together, these effects can make the restaurant experience more taxing than relaxing.

Shifting restaurant design trends starting in the early 2000s are partly to blame here, too. Open kitchens increased overall ambient noise, as did modern décor, which tended toward high, exposed ceilings, bare wood and stone surfaces, and a noticeable lack of soft, noise-absorbing accents like curtains, upholstery and carpet. But now that more restauranteurs are aware of this, some are trying to find ways to muffle the din of all that dinner prep.

Iceland’s Famed Blue Lagoon to Reopen

The popular geothermal spa shut down after a nearby volcano erupted

Nothing ruins your well-planned Instagram shot like a volanco erupting. But I’m sure that many photo ops were put on hold when a volcano in southwestern Iceland erupted last week. It was the fifth and most powerful since the volcanic system reawakened in December after 800 years—spewing massive lava flows that threatened to cut off the town of Grindavík and prompting the evacuation of the world-famous Blue Lagoon.

But, good news: the famed geothermal spa, one of Iceland’s biggest tourist attractions, reopened Sunday after authorities said the volcano had stabilized. Hundreds of tourists bathed in the lagoon, with the view of the erupting crater in the background, reports ABC News.

Iceland, which sits above a volcanic hot spot in the North Atlantic, sees regular eruptions. The most disruptive, you may recall, was the 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which spewed huge clouds of ash into the atmosphere and led to widespread airspace closures over Europe.

The Rising Demand for Whiskey: A Smart Investor’s Choice

Why are 250,000 Vinovest customers investing in whiskey?

In a word - consumption.

Global alcohol consumption is on the rise, with projections hitting new peaks by 2028. Whiskey, in particular, is experiencing significant growth, with the number of US craft distilleries quadrupling in the past decade. Younger generations are moving from beer to cocktails, boosting whiskey's popularity.

That’s not all.

Whiskey's tangible nature, market resilience, and Vinovest’s strategic approach make whiskey a smart addition to any diversified portfolio.

Schedule a call with a Vinovest advisor to learn more.

Focus on what you can control.