Salmonella enterica is a nasty bacteria that tends to make people very sick. But Washington University in St. Louis researcher Kelly Flentie is trying to use it to make cancer patients better, says Paige Brown at the From the Lab Bench blog. Flentie uses bioluminescent imaging to study the interactions between bacteria and cancer cells, by inserting a derivative of firefly luciferin — the chemical which makes the insects glow — into the microscopic bacteria.