Australian researchers have developed the first potent new small-molecule inhibitors capable of blocking the activation of apoptotic cell death before it causes damage to mitochondria, they reported in a study published in the Oct. 7, 2019, issue of Nature Chemical Biology. Those first-in-class inhibitors will be useful tools for evaluating the mechanisms underlying apoptosis, assessing the impact of the pharmacological blockade of apoptosis in experimental models and potentially have multiple clinical indications.