After six years of research, teams from the University of Basel and ETH Zurich have discovered a potentially crucial weapon against antibiotic-resistant bacteria: a virus named Paride that preys on and kills dormant bacteria. This bacterium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which can cause severe respiratory diseases and potentially fatal pneumonia, often enters a dormant state as a defense mechanism, making it resistant to many forms of treatment. Paride, found on decaying plant matter in a Swiss cemetery, has shown remarkable efficacy in lab tests and mouse experiments when combined with the antibiotic meropenem, killing off 99% of the targeted bacteria. This significant advancement suggests a new method to tackle drug-resistant infections, though researchers emphasize that this is just the beginning of understanding and utilizing phages against superbugs.