Molecular Mechanisms of Programmed Cell Death

The 2002 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Sydney Brenner, H. Robert Horvitz, and John E. Sulston for their seminal discoveries concerning "genetic regulation of organ development and programmed cell death." This clearly marked the prime importance of understanding the molecular mechanisms controlling cell death. The 1 st International Symposium on Programmed Cell Death was held in the Shanghai Science Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences on September 8-12, 1996. A number