Creating room to breathe on the microscale

Respiratory distress syndrome is the second major cause of newborn mortality. Health care providers especially struggle to deliver oxygen to preterm newborns, who account for roughly one-tenth of all births in the U.S., because lungs are among the last organs to fully develop in the womb. A new microfluidics innovation shows hope to improve artificial placentas so preterm newborns can properly develop lungs following birth.