Harvard scientists say they can grow ovaries in a lab

BOSTON – Women's health, in general, has not received the same funding and attention as conditions that affect men. Researchers at the Harvard University Wyss Institute hope to change that. 

In conjunction with Duke University and the biotechnology company Gameto, they have created a living, fully human ovarian organoid that supports the maturation of an egg, develops follicles, and secretes sex hormones. 

This allows scientists to study the human ovary without needing to take tissue from patients and could lead to the development of new treatments for conditions like infertility and ovarian cancer. 

 In fact, they say similar technology could one day treat infertility by growing egg cells from people whose own eggs don't function normally.

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Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

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