The medical profession is in the midst of losing an arms race. Bacterial antibiotic resistance doesn't just threaten our ability to treat infection but our ability to carry out any treatment where infection is a risk. This includes a raft of life-saving surgeries ranging from coronary bypass operations to organ transplantation. In fact, the number of new antimicrobials being developed is declining each year. Understanding how bacteria resist the influence of antibiotics is essential to winning this arms race: it is time to make up ground.