In the last decade, Dr. Don Ingberengineering engineer at the university Harvardhas created over 15 chips that look and function like human organs, lungs, liver, intestines and even skin.

According to a New York Times article, his new venture is to make a chip that works like a bay.

This particular chip was made from vaginal cells donated by two women. it’s crumb rubber silicone chewing gum size.

“This is the most realistic lab model I have ever built,” Dr. Ingber adding that the model has many functions similar to the female vagina.

Bacterial vaginitis in the frame

He and other researchers hope the tool could be a solution for testing treatments for bacterial vaginosis, an infection caused by harmful microorganisms in the vagina that affects about 30 percent of women every year.

“This is a great achievement,” said Dr. Lev. Sangigynecologist at the Medical Center Hadassah in Jerusalem who studies the vagina microbiome and did not participate in the new study.

According to the gynecologist, this development is important, as finding women willing to donate vaginal samples is not difficult, but it is difficult to find someone who is willing to participate in drug research.

In a study funded by the Gates Foundation, the chip was used to mimic how a real vagina reacts to good and bad bacteria.

The principle of the chip is similar to what happens when a woman gets bacterial vaginitis, that is, from harmful bacteria that enter the vagina. microbiome and reduce the acidity of the vagina, sometimes causing itching and increased discharge.

It is noted that bacterial vaginitis is usually treated with antibiotics, but the recurrence rate is high. It also increases the risk of sexually transmitted infections and cervical cancer if left untreated. In pregnant women, it may increase the risk of preterm labor.

However, despite the benefits that this particular chip may have, some important data was not included in the study, according to the scientists.

“Real life is much more complicated than the operation of the chip,” the doctor said. a lion Sangi adds like “At the bay, we knew that bacteria were vital more than a hundred years ago. Relevant research has been going on for many years, but we still have a long way to go.” concluded doctor Sangi.

Source: New York Times.