Secrets of the microbiome: the vagina

The trillions of microbes living on and inside the human body are
an important part of who we are, from mediating all our
interactions with the environment to determining our cancer risk
and influencing who we fall for. And scientists are only just
beginning to decipher the species of bug we share our lives with,
and how they shape us. In the second of a three-part Science Weekly
mini-series, Madeleine Finlay meets Ina Schuppe Koistinen,
associate professor at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, and
author of the book Vulva: Facts, Myths and Life-Changing Insights.
Ina explains what makes the vaginal microbiome special, why it
could hold the key to understanding pregnancy complications, and
how we can better care for and protect it.. Help support our
independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod