I was forwarded a link to the Australian Synchrotron Science about a case study being performed by ~ The University of Queensland.

This is the information they provided on their website:

We need a layer of natural lung surfactant NLS that is just 1 molecule thick to breathe. Premature babies lack NLS.

• Animal-based and synthetic alternatives are used to help babies breathe but better treatments are needed.
• A team at The University of Queensland has used synchrotrons in the USA and Japan to provide critical information for understanding the structural changes that take place in NLS every time we breathe.
• The aim is to create a safe, effective artificial lung surfactant that could be used to help premature babies and adults with lung problems.

Ronan was born with Chronic Lung Disease and was on oxygen for 3 months. I can only imagine how much better his lungs would have been had this been available when he was born. If successful this would be a HUGE step towards helping a premature baby and his/her lungs. From my understanding one of the biggest complications/issues with having a premature baby is their lungs because of the lack of lung surfactant if the baby is born before 30 weeks, although i could be wrong with my gestation calculation. The university is doing an amazing job and i look forward to hearing about it’s release here in Australia in the years to come.