LinkExchange Member

In the 1970's, scientists noticed that when a rhesus monkey and a baboon had a baby it was always born too early. These animal babies, called rheboons, usually died from the same disease that the premature human babies usually died from. This disease is called hyaline membrane disease and it causes a baby's lungs to collapse.

Many other mammals, which are animals that have hair or fur; have live babies not eggs; and nurse their young, get this disease when born by Caesarian section. Caesarian section is when a mother has trouble safely having a baby, so a doctor uses surgery to help bring the baby into the world. Even with Caesarian sections, these animal babies used to all die.

Through knowledge about evolution, scientists know that primates are closely related to each other. Baboons, monkeys, and humans are all primates. Rheboon babies and human babies with the disease were the only mammals that would sometimes live, and unlike other mammals both can get the disease without the mother having a Caesarian section. This showed that scientists could learn much about the care of premature human babies by studying other primate babies, such as rheboons and baboons.

Because of all these observations, scientists later figured out that some baboon babies born with the disease could be saved by placing them for a while, on a machine that breathes for them.

By studying these baboon babies some more, scientists in the 1980's made a machine that could make the premature human babies take lots of little breathes, and that helped more of them to live. Also by studying the baboons, scientists developed surfactant therapy which helps the lungs of premature babies grow.

Between 1989 and 1990, hospitals started using surfactant therapy and lots more premature babies were able to live.

Today, most premature babies can live thanks to science.

(Source for information on rheboons and premature babies was from "Contest: Describe Evolution's Tangible Benefits, Win A Prize" by Dave Longtin and Duane Kramer in Reports of the National Center for Science Education, Vol.19, no.1 March/April, 1999. That article includes a list of references for additional sources of information.)

Back to Kids' Pages, Table of Contents
Back to Homepage