What is Self-replication?
{{seealso|Biological reproduction}} '''Replication''' is a general word for making a copy. '''Self-replication''' is how a thing might make a copy of itself. Biological [[cells]], in suitable environments, reproduce by [[cell division]]. The process is [[self-organising]], given the basic machinery of a cell. During cell division, [[DNA]] is replicated and can be [[heredity|transmitted]] to offspring during [[reproduction]]. Other kinds of replication occur. [[RNA virus]]es use the mechanism of a cell to replicate their own RNA strand and make its protein coat. [[Retrovirus]]es are one of most important RNA viruses; there are a number of other types. [[Viruses]] can only reproduce by taking over the reproductive machinery of cells through infection. [[Computer virus]]es reproduce using the hardware and [[software]] already present on computers. [[Meme]]s reproduce using the human mind and culture as their reproductive machinery. ==References== {{reflist}} * von Neumann, J., [[1966]], ''The Theory of Self-reproducing Automata'', A. Burks, ed., Univ. of Illinois Press, Urbana, IL. * * Kenyon, R., ''Self-replicating tilings'', in: Symbolic Dynamics and Applications (P. Walters, ed.) Contemporary Math. vol. 135 (1992), 239-264. * http://www.cs.bgu.ac.il/~sipper/selfrep/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170303200906/https://www.cs.bgu.ac.il/~sipper/selfrep/ |date=2017-03-03 }} The Artificial Self-Replication Page [[Category:Biological reproduction]] [[Category:Technology]]