Onemillioncellsinourbodiesdieeverysecond--theycommitsuicidebyamechanismknownasapoptosis.Apoptosisisessentialforsurvivalofthebodyasawholeandhascriticalrolesinvariousdevelopmentalprocessesandtheimmunesystem.InMeansToAnEnd,DouglasGreenprovidesaclearandcomprehensiveviewofapoptosisandothercelldeathmechanisms.Takingabottom-upapproach,hestartswiththeenzymesthatperformtheexecutionprocess(afamilyofproteasestermedcaspases)andexaminestheircellulartargetsandthewaysinwhichtheyareactivated.Hethenlooksatthemolecularmachinerythatlinkssignalsthatcausecelldeathtocaspases,emphasizingtheimportanceoftheBCL-2familyofproteinsandtheroleofcytochromecreleasedfrommitochondria.Thefinalstageoftheprocess,phagocyticremovalofdeadordyingcells,isalsocovered.Greenoutlinestherolesofapoptosisanddeathmechanismssuchasnecrosisinembryogenesis,neuronalselection,andthedevelopmentofself-toleranceintheimmunesystem.Inaddition,heexplainshowcelldeathdefendsthebodyagainstcancerandtracestheevolutionaryoriginsoftheapoptosismachinerybackoverabillionyears.Thebookisthusofgreatusetoallbiologistsinterestedinhowcellsfunctioninthecontextofmulticellularorganismsandwillappealtoeveryonefromundergraduatesencounteringthetopicforthefirsttimetoresearchersactivelyworkinginthefield.
