A white blood cell spews its DNA at a pathogen, killing both, in a process called NETosis. It’s one of 20-plus types of cell death that scientists

Your cells are dying. All the time.

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2024-09-29 14:30:19

A white blood cell spews its DNA at a pathogen, killing both, in a process called NETosis. It’s one of 20-plus types of cell death that scientists have uncovered.

They can die by accident if they’re injured or infected. Alternatively, should they outlive their natural lifespan or start to fail, they can carefully arrange for a desirable demise, with their remains neatly tidied away.

Originally, scientists thought those were the only two ways an animal cell could die, by accident or by that neat-and-tidy version. But over the past couple of decades, researchers have racked up many more novel cellular death scenarios, some specific to certain cell types or situations. Understanding this panoply of death modes could help scientists save good cells and kill bad ones, leading to treatments for infections, autoimmune diseases and cancer.

“There’s lots and lots of different flavors here,” says Michael Overholtzer, a cell biologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. He estimates that there are now more than 20 different names to describe cell death varieties.