A sophisticated chip, coin-sized, in which it is possible to grow cartilage and then subject it to mechanical stimuli capable of generating the effects of osteoarthritis (OA). This is the extraordinary result obtained in the MiMic laboratory (“Microfluidic and Biomimetic Microsystems ") of the Politecnico di Milano by Marco Rasponi, research coordinator together with Andrea Barbero of the University Hospital of Basel. "The hope - explains Rasponi himself - is that having an in vitro model more representative of OA can make the pre-clinical phases of drug development more effective: identifying early on the behavior that a molecule will have in humans , reducing the use of animal models, and finally contributing to the discovery of drugs capable of reversing the effects of the disease ". Excerpt from the interview appeared a few days ago on the Journal of the Order of Biologists.