self-replicating

American  

[self-rep-li-key-ting, self-] / ˈsɛlfˈrɛp lɪˌkeɪ tɪŋ, ˌsɛlf- /

adjective

1. reproducing itself by its own power or inherent nature.

   self-replicating organisms.

2. Genetics. making an exact copy or copies of itself, as a strand of DNA.

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Other Word Forms

• self-replication noun

Etymology

Origin of self-replicating

First recorded in 1955–60

Example Sentences

Let’s be clear: like science fiction, mirror bacteria — full mirror organisms capable of self-replicating and taking on all of our immune systems — don’t exist yet in the real world.

From Salon

Venter replicated the DNA of a bacterium in 2008 and in 2010 announced the creation of a self-replicating synthetic genome, or DNA, in a bacterium taken from a different species, spurring a bioethics investigation of the developing field of synthetic biology by then-President Obama that identified limited risks.

From Salon

But mirror bacteria, which would be living organisms capable of self-replicating, not just little bits of protein, are what Kay and his fellow scientists are concerned about.

From Salon

Curiously, of the 4.9 billion reactions generated, only hundreds of reaction cycles could be called "self-replicating," which means that the molecules produce additional copies of themselves.

From Science Daily

And it can become self-replicating.

From Slate