Self-replication (the word comes from the Latin replica) means a faithful molecular copy, while self-reproduction refers rather to a statistical process of making very similar things.

As a cellular biologist, Lipton discovered that the outer layer of every single one of the nearly 40 trillion cells in our bodies has its own intelligence, meaning it can learn.

In principle, one could imagine a species whose genes were unable to replicate, but instead were adapted to keep their physical form unchanged by continual self-maintenance and by protecting themselves from external influences.