New compounds developed at Vanderbilt demonstrate a unique mechanism of broad spectrum activity to stymy antibacterial resistance. The compounds are particularly useful in chronic infections where long term antibiotic therapy fails, because it specifically kills "small colony variants" -- the bacteria that have developed resistance mechanisms. These compounds show promise in treating Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), Bacillus anthracis (anthrax), and in overcoming difficult-to-treat infections in bone in cystic fibrosis patients. These compounds could be combined with new (and old) antimicrobial drugs to outwit resistant bacterial infections.