In 1994, when the International Cell Death Society was founded, programmed cell death and apoptosis had just recently been recognized as major factors in medicine, important in diseases such as cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, autoimmune diseases, and developmental anomalies. The biomedical world had accepted the idea that most cells do not die by accident: under specific conditions, they commit suicide, leading either to protection of the organism or damage to it. In the last 20 years, we have come to understand a great deal about cell death. It is a major research field, and one that is...