Preventing bacterial dormancy, artwork. Proteins (red and yellow) being used to control bacterial DNA (blue, deoxyribonucleic acid) and prevent a mechanism known as bacterial dormancy. Also called bacterial persistence, this allows bacteria to survive in biofilms and cause infections in places like hospitals. The protein that normally causes this dormancy is called HipA (red), but here it is being bound to by another protein, HipB (yellow), locking HipA into a shape that prevents it performing its role. This inhibition then allows drugs to be used to target the bacteria. This DNA is in a nucleoid from an E. coli bacterium.