Along the Gulf Coast, a bacterium long overshadowed by more familiar pathogens has been quietly establishing itself at twice the national rate, carrying genetic variants and antibiotic resistances that existing medical knowledge was not prepared to explain. Researchers at the University of South Alabama have brought Pseudomonas aeruginosa into sharper focus, revealing that what was assumed to be a minor player in urinary infections is, in this region, something more complex and more stubborn. The study does not yet answer why this corner of the country bears a disproportionate burden, but it n