Self-replication involves a catalyst that participates in a reaction to produce more of the same catalyst. The process generally includes the following steps: 1. Initiation: The initial catalyst reacts with a substrate. 2. Propagation: The reaction produces intermediates that can themselves act as catalysts. 3. Termination: The reaction completes, resulting in the formation of additional copies of the catalyst.
A simple example is the template-directed synthesis, where a molecular template guides the formation of new molecules that resemble the template itself.
