The Worm's Metabolic Dance: How Diet Rewrites the Fate of Nutrients
A worm a millimeter long eats labeled atoms, and then the dance begins. Every carbon and nitrogen atom that enters the body takes its place in the cells: it becomes part of proteins, fats, DNA. The scientists labeled the worm's food with the stable isotopes ¹³C and ¹⁵N, then switched it back to ordinary food and began tracking how quickly the labeled atoms leave the tissues.