The tool will allow women to screen for HPV, which causes almost all cases of cervical cancer, without visiting a doctor.

Pap smears are terrible. Every year, I stare at the ceiling and try my hardest to ignore the scraping of my insides. In the age of AI chatbots and self-driving cars, how has no one figured out a less torturous way to screen for cervical cancer?

The Food and Drug Administration just approved an at home test that could be an optional alternative to a yearly pap smear. The test looks for human papilloma virus, or HPV, which causes nearly all incidences of cervical cancer.