Harvard doctor invents ‘vagina on a chip’ to replace animal testing for women’s health issues

Source: New York Post

Harvard scientists have been honored for creating the world’s first “vagina-on-a-chip,” a groundbreaking device that mimics the female reproductive tract using living human cells. The tiny lab-grown model allows researchers to better study the vaginal microbiome, including the effects of hormones, healthy bacteria, infections and possible treatments — all without experimenting on mice, which don’t have the same hormonal changes as humans. “These are very detailed aspects of human biology that we can now observe and test with these models that we previously couldn’t do with animals, and that sets the stage for us to develop better and more effective strategies for women,” Dr.