Read the full article (Duke Today)
“In miniature test tubes in biologist Ryan Baugh’s lab at Duke, thousands of tiny wriggling worms – each one a fraction the size of an eyelash – munch on their dinner of bacteria broth.
The worms’ soupy meal is laced with a hidden ingredient, invisible so-called ‘forever chemicals’ found in America’s drinking water, our food and farmlands, even lurking in our bodies.
It’s a chemical safety test, said Duke postdoctoral fellow Tess Leuthner. The garden- and compost-dwelling worm is helping researchers such as Baugh and Leuthner uncover new insights into the health effects of human-made chemicals used in everyday products, ranging from cookware to candy wrappers.” …