Catabiosis is the process of growing older,

aging Ageing ( BE) or aging ( AE) is the process of becoming older. The term refers mainly to humans, many other animals, and fungi, whereas for example, bacteria, perennial plants and some simple animals are potentially biologically immortal. In ...

and physical degradation. The word comes from Greek "kata"—down, against, reverse and "biosis"—way of life and is generally used to describe

senescence Senescence () or biological aging is the gradual deterioration of functional characteristics in living organisms. The word ''senescence'' can refer to either cellular senescence or to senescence of the whole organism. Organismal senescence inv ...

and degeneration in living organisms and biophysics of aging in general. One of the popular catabiotic theories is the

entropy Entropy is a scientific concept, as well as a measurable physical property, that is most commonly associated with a state of disorder, randomness, or uncertainty. The term and the concept are used in diverse fields, from classical thermodynam ...

theory of aging, where aging is characterized by thermodynamically favourable increase in structural disorder. Living organisms are open systems that take free energy from the environment and offload their entropy as waste. However, basic components of living systems— DNA,

proteins Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...

lipids Lipids are a broad group of naturally-occurring molecules which includes fats, waxes, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins (such as vitamins A, D, E and K), monoglycerides, diglycerides, phospholipids, and others. The functions of lipids include ...

and sugars—tend towards the state of maximum entropy while continuously accumulating damages causing catabiosis of the living structure. Catabiotic force on the contrary is the influence exerted by living structures on adjoining cells, by which the latter are developed in harmony with the primary structures.

See also