One of the most widely disseminated strains of an antibiotic-resistant bacterium responsible for hundreds of infections in European hospitals can be traced back to the 1950s, according to researchers at the Rockefeller University, USA. Using DNA fingerprinting they have shown that this persistent lineage of Staphylococcus aureus is an expert at acquiring resistance to antibiotics. The success of the bacteria to survive may ultimately lead to better antibiotics (http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/161272898v 1, August 18).