The medical term is &quot;Apoptosis&quot; and the Wikipedia article is a good intro to this <i>very</i> complex topic [1]<p>[1] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Apoptosis" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Apoptosis</a>