Chromosome replication. The red/violet color is Ribonucleic acid (RNA), and the blue stripe is Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). In molecular biology, DNA replication is the biological process of producing two identical replicas of DNA from one original DNA molecule. This process occurs in all living organisms and is the basis for biological inheritance. The cell possesses the distinctive property of division, which makes replication of DNA essential. Before a cell can divide, it must first replicate its DNA so that each of the two daughter cells will receive a complete copy of the DNA. The two identical chromosomes that result from DNA replication are referred to as sister chromatids.