From the complex to the simple, all life forms have mechanisms for translating environmental cues into cellular behavior that helps them survive. This universal activity may hold the key to understanding how common bacteria transform into virulent, deadly infections in humans, but the multifaceted protein sensing and signaling processes that allow lifeforms to adapt are poorly understood in even the simplest bacteria. A newly published paper in PNAS details how researchers at the Advanced Science Research Center (ASRC) at The Graduate Center of The City University of New York are using blue light and bacteria called Erythrobacter litoralis to unlock previously unknown details of one of these processes. Their findings could ultimately help drug developers create novel, more effective antibiotics and antifungal treatments.