Apoptosis - A Bad kinase makes good

The balance between cell survival and programmed cell death (apoptosis) is important in animal growth and development. Several new reports now unravel the intricate set of instructions of one pathway that promotes cell survival. The central players are an enzyme called Akt, a protein called Bad, which (as its name suggests) tells cells to die, and Bcl-xL, a cell survival factor. Activated Akt adds a phosphate group to Bad, which then dissociates from its complex with Bcl-xL. The latter is now free to halt the activity of a group of enzymes called caspases, which are the cells' executioners.