(Walter and Eliza Hall Institute) Loss of the protein Parkin causes certain forms of Parkinson’s disease, a neurodegenerative condition involving death of neurons.Walter and Eliza Hall Institute researchers in Australia showed that Parkin stifles cell death by blocking BAK, a protein which is a central player in cell death.Understanding the interactions between Parkin and BAK may lead to new therapeutic approaches to slow the progression of Parkinson’s disease.