Commitment in apoptosis: slightly dead but mostly alive

Although the molecular players are well known, the signaling thresholds that shape the decision of a cell to undergo apoptosis remain poorly understood. Using quantitative single-cell analysis approaches, a recent study has generated new insight into the molecular events that influence individual cell-death decisions. Surprisingly, this study demonstrates that cells partly committed to apoptosis can recover and also indicates, although this is as yet unproven, that such cells might harbor DNA damage that could act as a driver of oncogenesis.