Finding mechanisms of viral resistance and new ways to tackle chronic hepatitis will help find a cure for this disease. In ‘Bench to Bedside’, Christopher Walker and Benoît Callendret highlight studies showing that overcoming immune exhaustion during chronic infection by blocking several inhibitory pathways of T cells may restore an adequate immune response. In ‘Bedside to Bench’, Lawrence Corey, Joshua Schiffer and John Scott discuss recent advances in antiviral therapy with protease inhibitors and the findings of a mathematical model that predicts possible single and double mutations prior to antiviral therapy.