are VIRuses dead or alive? |
Are viruses dead or alive? Well we need to brake it down a little further than this. What is alive? how to we define life. Well in order to be considered living something must follow all 8 of the 8 characteristics of living things. These characteristics are....
-All living things must be made up of one or more cells. -All living things need energy. -All living things grow. -All living things reproduce. -All living things respond to their environments. -All living thing things adapt and evolve. -All living things maintain internal and external homeostasis. -All living things can die. |
The problem we face with viruses is they only cover some of the characteristics of living things and don't fall under others. for example Viruses are not made up of 1 or more cells. Viruses can reproduce, however they need the help of a host cell to do so. They also do not need energy or respond to their environment. Viruses also cannot die, they can even be crystallized into salt and still live. For those reasons is why i believe viruses are not living. They do not fall under all the characteristics of living things. e