Programmed cell death plays an important role in maintaining homeostasis during 
animal development, and has been conserved in animals as different as nematodes 
and humans. Recent studies of Drosophila have provided valuable information 
toward our understanding of genetic regulation of death. Different signals 
trigger the novel death regulators rpr, hid, and grim, that utilize the 
evolutionarily conserved iap and ark genes to modulate caspase function. 
Subsequent removal of dying cells also appears to be accomplished by conserved 
mechanisms. The similarity between Drosophila and human in cell death signaling 
pathways illustrate the promise of fruit flies as a model system to elucidate 
the mechanisms underlying regulation of programmed cell death.