Viruses- living or non-living?

2517>Even though viruses do many "living" activities, so to speak, they lack several other characteristics required in living organisms. Just like the first dude said...They cannot metabolize and they cannot reproduce independant of a living host. they are simply genetic material encased in a protien coat.
Reply:Non-living. They have no sense of metabolism. They reproduce via host cells.
Reply:this is debated by scientists all the time.





Perhaps it's time to have a 3rd category?
Reply:living!not like us or animals but they are living things!
Reply:i thought they were living though because they are prokaryot maybe that's y they aren't really categorized as non living.


mayb there should really be a 3rd category
Reply:they share both of those categories.





a virus cannot replicate or do its own biochemistry by-itself. it needs the aid of a host cell. the virus hacks into the cell and uses it and its metabolism to replicate itself. so, in the inability do carry out its own biochemistry/metabolism, a virus is said to be non-living.


since a virus does have a genome(rna or dna and all the senses that deal with viruses). and that genome has genes that code for proteins and enzymes, it is said to be living.