The pneumonia-causing pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa has developed a twin-track strategy to colonize its host. It generates two cell types—motile spreaders and virulent stickers. Researchers at the University of Basel’s Biozentrum have now elucidated how the germ attaches to tissue within seconds and consecutively spreads just like a business model: settling—growing—expanding. The study has been published in Cell Host & Microbe.