Question

Can you consider viruses as living or non living? Justify your answer with people's scientific reasoning.

Answer 1

Viruses are not living things. Viruses are complicated assemblies of molecules, including proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, and carbohydrates, but on their own they can do nothing until they enter a living cell. Without cells, viruses would not be able to multiply. Therefore, viruses are not living things.
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Answer 2

viruses can be considered as living as well as non living.
because they have they have properties of both living as well as non living.

living properties of viruses:

being formed of organic macromolecules.
presence of genetic material.
ability to multiply.
occurrence of mutations.
occurrence of certain enzymes like neuraminidase, transcriptase and lysozyme in certain viruses.
infectivity and host specificity.
viruses can be killed by autoclaving and ultraviolet rays.
they take over biosynthetic machinery of the host cell and produce chemicals required for their multiplication.
viruses are responsible for a number of infectious disease like common cold, epidemic influenza, chicken pox, mumps, poliomyelitis, rabbies, herpes, AIDS, SARS etc.

non living properties of viruses:

lacking protoplast.
ability to get crystallized example tmv, poliomyelitis virus.
inability to leave independent of a living cell (lack functional autonomy).
high specific gravity which is found only in non living objects .
absence of respiration.
absence of energy storage system.
absence of growth and division.


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