A huge leap in the study of parasitic lice was announced today. The first draft of the human body louse genome (Pediculus humanus humanus) was released on VectorBase. This louse is the primary vector of Rickettsia prowazekii which causes Epidemic typhus. Historically this was one of the most significant diseases ever to infect humans, and is still labelled today as a category B bioterrorism agent. The genome is exceptional in that it is the smallest insect genome known. Its publication opens the door to a wealth of new studies on the host-vector-pathogen interactions, and will be a spectacular resource for the evolutionary study of insect and other arthropod genomes. Congratulations to Barry Pittendrigh, John Clark and all the collaborators for this spectacular achievement.