= Cell survival
<Cell survival> means that a <biological cell> remains alive over a specified interval and under specified conditions. It differs from <cell proliferation>: a <neuron> can survive for years without dividing, while an increasing <cell population> can conceal simultaneous <cell division> and <cell death>. A <cell viability> assay measures a chosen property, such as retention of an intact <cell membrane> or continuing <metabolism>, rather than every possible future function. <Molecular Biology of the Cell, 4th edition by Bruce Alberts and others>[Chapter 17, Programmed Cell Death: survival signals and regulation of apoptosis]{ref}
The balance is actively regulated. Survival signals can restrain <apoptosis>; loss of a required signal can permit a death programme. In a cell-free experiment, removing <cytochrome c> suppressed apoptotic activity and adding it back restored that activity in the presence of dATP. This linked a normally compartmentalized mitochondrial <protein> to activation of an <apoptosis> pathway, rather than identifying survival merely with a high metabolic readout. <Induction of apoptotic program in cell-free extracts: requirement for dATP and cytochrome c by X. Liu and others>[1996, abstract: immunodepletion, add-back and cytosolic release]{ref}
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