The tuberculosis bacillus is growing resistant to antibiotics. For this reason, biochemists are attempting to identify the mechanisms that enable the bacterium to reproduce, spread and survive in latent form in our macrophages. The scientists have discovered that the bacterium has the ability to ‘reprogram’ the cell it infects so that it can feed on its lipids. This results will pave the way for treatment opportunities based on starving and weakening the bacterium.