Humans aren’t the only earth-bound organisms that need to take their vitamins. Thiamine – commonly known as vitamin B1 – is vital to the survival of most every living thing on earth. But the average bacterium or plant can’t just run to the local drugstore for a supply, they have to scavenge it (or its component parts) from their surroundings. New NC State research shows that a little-studied B1 precursor, or component, called cHET can be easily taken up and used in extremely small concentrations by marine microorganisms such as phytoplankton, as well as by plants.