Apoptosis is one of the hottest topics in biology, yet research
is hampered by an inability to identify cells that are beginning
to undergo this regulated cell death sequence. This research will
develop, in a joint Stony Brook/Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory effort,
intracellular profluorescent reagents that will be activated by
the enzymes at the earliest phases of apoptosis. Initially these
reagents will be used as a research tool in industrial and academic
labs. Latter applications will include diagnostic reagents and,
potentially lead to the design of pharmaceuticals. The importance
of apoptosis research is reflected in the more than 8,000 papers
have been published on this subject during 1998 alone.
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