On Jan. 31, University Of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) researchers announced that they had found a way to halt sperm from swimming. This discovery is making a clear path toward the longtime medical goal of producing a male birth control pill. They also announced that they had reached an agreement with a Norwegian company, SpermaTech, in an attempt to develop this contraceptive. However, even if their theories are right, it could still take up to a decade of lab testing in order to fully develop this new contraceptive.

“The existence of alternative methods of birth control is exceedingly important, particularly methods men can use and where the responsibility for contraception becomes more of a shared responsibility,” said Dr. Karen Loeb Lifford, medical director of Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, The Boston Globe reports.

This development comes five decades after the development of the female birth control pill, an invention that revolutionized sexuality in the 1960s and contributed greatly to the women’s liberation movement. This new form of birth control is expected to revolutionize all contraception.

“We support this research on a number of levels,” said UMMS spokesman Dr. Michael Cohen for the UMass Boston student newspaper The Daily Collegian. “We very much support alternate forms of contraception … I think there are many men who will find this to be a good option.”

Interestingly enough, researchers used pond scum to do the majority of their research. Algae in pond scum travel through water using flagella, which are basically small, microscopic engines. These algae have a structure similar to that of sperm.

Researchers found a way to shut down the algae flagella and wondered if they could do he same thing to sperm. Using ram’s sperm, which is very close in structure to human sperm, researchers were successful in their attempts to halt the sperm from swimming through semen.

In his research, George B. Witman III, a cell biologist at UMass, discovered that the essential protein affected by this can be found nowhere else in the human body, thus suggesting that this pill will likely have no side affects.

“This is an important discovery because we have something that is unique to sperm and also we know it’s essential to the sperm,” said Dr. Jerome F. Strauss III, director of the Center for Research on Reproduction and Women’s Health at the University of Pennsylvania, The Boston Globe reports.

This contraceptive could come in multiple forms, such as pills, gel, or a patch, and part of the challenge will be to decide what the best one is, The Daily Collegian reports.

As for its potential success, it seems like this contraceptive will catch on. “I’d rather have that than to have to pay for some expensive surgery,” said first-year Pete Rey.