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catabiosis

catabiosis

9.9
The slow change in cells when they age and break down
  • noun
  • /ˌkætəˈbaɪəsɪs/
  • Specialized
: catabiosis
  • Scientists study catabiosis to understand how tissues deteriorate with age.

Examples

  • Preventing or slowing catabiosis could lead to anti-aging therapies in the future.

  • As organisms age, catabiosis becomes more pronounced.

  • Certain genetic factors can accelerate the rate of catabiosis in living organisms.

  • The process of catabiosis can lead to various health issues.

  • Scientists study catabiosis to understand how tissues deteriorate as they age.

  • Certain genetic factors can accelerate the rate of catabiosis in living organisms.

  • Preventing or slowing catabiosis could lead to anti-aging therapies in the future.

Synonyms

aging
vscatabiosis
  • US
116 2.7

The process of getting older and showing physical changes in the body

refers specifically to deterioration occurring within individual cells

Antonyms

anabolism
  • Specialized
1 8.7

Process that makes complex molecules from simple ones in living things using energy

Surface Forms

catabiosis singular
catabioses plural

Morphology

catabiosis = cata + biosis

A technical coinage from Greek combining forms (cata- + -biosis); the components are not productive standalone English words and the meaning cannot be reliably inferred by an average B1 learner.

Etymology

Catabiosis comes from Greek parts kata- meaning 'down' and bios meaning 'life', and you can recognise bio- in common words like biology. So think of 'life going down' as a simple image — that's why catabiosis means the normal process of cells aging and breaking down.