Waht are viruses?

Question

What is their structure? Do scientists consider viruses as cells or as living? How are viruses classified?
give the websites or the abswers based on the questions i asked please~ASAP

Waht are viruses?
What is their structure? Do scientists consider viruses as cells or as living? How are viruses classified?
give the websites or the abswers based on the questions i asked please~ASAP
please make ur answer like point list, so i can easily know the catogories of wht question are u answering

Answer 1

A virus (Latin, poison) is a microscopic particle that can infect the cells of a biological organism. At the most basic level, viruses consist of genetic material contained within a protective protein shell called a capsid; the existence of both genetic material and protein distinguishes them from other virus-like particles such as prions and viroids. They infect a wide variety of organisms: both eukaryotes (animals, fungi and plants) and prokaryotes (bacteria). A virus that infects bacteria is known as a bacteriophage, often shortened to phage. The study of viruses is known as virology. A virologist studies viruses.
It has been argued extensively whether viruses are living organisms. Most virologists consider them non-living, as they do not meet all the criteria of the generally accepted definition of life. They are similar to obligate intracellular parasites as they lack the means for self-reproduction outside a host cell, but unlike parasites, viruses are generally not considered to be true living organisms. Among other factors, viruses do not possess a cell membrane or metabolise on their own. A definitive answer is still elusive because some organisms considered to be living exhibit characteristics of both living and non-living particles, as viruses do. For those who consider viruses living, viruses are an exception to the cell theory proposed by Theodore Schwann, as viruses are not made up of cells.

Answer 2

Viruses are non-lliving microscopic particles that attack healthy cells within living things!! And i don't know what to put for the other answers!! But I don't know if scientists classify them as a cell or as living, but I don't see how they could classify them as living because every living thing is made of cells and viruses are not made of cells and also it is known that some viruses, when not in a living thing, will actually deteriorate! So some viruses cant even survive outside a living thing! And iving things are supposed to be made to be able to adapt to its surrounding and if they deteriorate then viruses aren't adapting to its surroundings which is a characteristic of being living!!

Answer 3

cells are living. knowing that, let me answer.

Viruses are biological infectious particles, the smallest pathogens known. They are not living, as they only have protein coats and DNA or RNA (one or the other never both). Neither do they have any organelles, like mitochondria or nuclei or vacuoles, etc. Their shapes are varied and determine the infection method. they are classified broadly into simple viruses and complex viruses, and then there are retroviruses. Viruses can have naked protein coats, or an envelope/membrane covering the protein coat. Viruses target very specific cells, such as HIV and T helper cells.

Hope that helps. I have no websites, sorry, I didn't look when researching.

Answer 4

Simply put,a virus is a package of complex protiens that can only replicate it's self by inducing another living entity to do so.
Thus viruses aren't considered as "living" things.One of the basic criteria for life is self replication.
Upon contact with certain living cells a virus deposits protiens that "commandeer" the cells normal functions,and cause it to produce copies of the virus.This process repeats it's self until the body as a whole is overcome with illness.

Answer 5

Most of us at one time or another have had colds or the flu, and we are especially vulnerable during the cold and flu season. The symptoms -- fever, congestion, coughing, sore throat -- spread through offices, schools and homes, no matter where in the world we live. Colds and flu (influenza) are caused by viruses. Viruses are responsible for many other serious, often deadly, diseases including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), Ebola hemorrhagic fever, infectious hepatitis and herpes.you know how both bacteria cells and the cells in your body work. A cell is a stand-alone living entity able to eat, grow and reproduce. Viruses are nothing like that. If you could look at a virus, you would see that a virus is a tiny particle. Virus particles are about one-millionth of an inch (17 to 300 nanometers) long. Viruses are about a thousand times smaller than bacteria, and bacteria are much smaller than most human cells. Viruses are so small that most cannot be seen with a light microscope, but must be observed with an electron microscope.
A virus particle, or virion, consists of the following:

Nucleic acid - Set of genetic instructions, either DNA or RNA, either single-stranded or double-stranded (see How Cells Work for details on DNA and RNA)
Coat of protein - Surrounds the DNA or RNA to protect it
Lipid membrane - Surrounds the protein coat (found only in some viruses, including influenza; these types of viruses are called enveloped viruses as opposed to naked viruses)
Viruses vary widely in their shape and complexity. Some look like round popcorn balls, while others have a complicated shape that looks like a spider or the Apollo lunar lander.
Unlike human cells or bacteria, viruses do not contain the chemical machinery (enzymes) needed to carry out the chemical reactions for life. Instead, viruses carry only one or two enzymes that decode their genetic instructions. So, a virus must have a host cell (bacteria, plant or animal) in which to live and make more viruses. Outside of a host cell, viruses cannot function. For this reason, viruses tread the fine line that separates living things from nonliving things. Most scientists agree that viruses are alive because of what happens when they infect a host cell.
Once inside the cell, the viral enzymes take over those enzymes of the host cell and begin making copies of the viral genetic instructions and new viral proteins using the virus's genetic instructions and the cell's enzyme machinery (see How Cells Work for details on the machinery). The new copies of the viral genetic instructions are packaged inside the new protein coats to make new viruses.
Once the new viruses are made, they leave the host cell in one of two ways:

They break the host cell open (lysis) and destroy the host cell.
They pinch out from the cell membrane and break away (budding) with a piece of the cell membrane surrounding them. This is how enveloped viruses leave the cell. In this way, the host cell is not destroyed.
Once free from the host cell, the new viruses can attack other cells. Because one virus can reproduce thousands of new viruses, viral infections can spread quickly throughout the body.
The sequence of events that occurs when you come down with the flu or a cold is a good demonstration of how a virus works:

An infected person sneezes near you.
You inhale the virus particle, and it attaches to cells lining the sinuses in your nose.
The virus attacks the cells lining the sinuses and rapidly reproduces new viruses.
The host cells break, and new viruses spread into your bloodstream and also into your lungs. Because you have lost cells lining your sinuses, fluid can flow into your nasal passages and give you a runny nose.
Viruses in the fluid that drips down your throat attack the cells lining your throat and give you a sore throat.
Viruses in your bloodstream can attack muscle cells and cause you to have muscle aches.
Your immune system responds to the infection, and in the process of fighting, it produces chemicals called pyrogens that cause your body temperature to increase. This fever actually helps you to fight the infection by slowing down the rate of viral reproduction, because most of your body's chemical reactions have an optimal temperature of 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit (37 degrees Celsius). If your temperature rises slightly above this, the reactions slow down. This immune response continues until the viruses are eliminated from your body. However, if you sneeze, you can spread thousands of new viruses into the environment to await another host.