John F. Kerr, Andrew H. Wyllie, and A. R. Currie named apoptosis.
In 1972, these researchers published a seminal paper that introduced the term "apoptosis" to differentiate this naturally occurring, programmed cell death from necrosis, which results from acute tissue injury. Their work was crucial in understanding the fundamental differences between these two distinct processes of cell death and its significance in normal development and disease. Understanding the distinction between these cell death processes opened avenues for research into various diseases and developmental processes.
