Biologists use microfluidics chips to watch worm behavior

Tiny roundworms called Caenorhabditis elegans have a rather uncomplicated method for finding food: They wriggle and turn and explore new territory until they find something edible, and then they stay the course until the food disappears. But despite the worm’s simple nervous system, researchers have been unable to figure out exactly how a stimulus such as food odor gets converted into a more complex, long-lasting behavior like foraging.