replicator

( n.)

   Any  construct that acts to produce copies of itself; this could be a
   living  organism,  an  idea  (see  {meme}),  a  program (see {quine},
   {worm},  {wabbit}, {fork bomb}, and {virus}), a pattern in a cellular
   automaton  (see  {life},  sense  1),  or  (speculatively)  a robot or
   {nanobot}.  It  is  even  claimed by some that {Unix} and {C} are the
   symbiotic  halves  of  an  extremely successful replicator; see {Unix
   conspiracy}.

[glossary]
[Reference(s) to this entry by made by: {meme}]