2006-10-30 19:00:27 · 9 answers · asked by Sexy little chikka 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Biology
viruses need a host (eg humans) in order to replicate and multiply... they dont have all the necessary 'machinery' to do it themselves... bacteria are self-supporting in this respect... they can replicate without the need of a host...
2006-10-30 19:23:49 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The original set of 'conditions' for a living organism were decided upon before Viruses were discovered (Movement; Respiration; Sensitivity; Growth; Reproduction; Excretion; Excitability; Nutrition)
Viruses do not satisfy all of these criteria, and so have not always been considered 'alive' by this definition.
However, Viruses do posses the fundenmental building block of DNA/RNA. They do multiply, they adapt, and evolve.
So, what a number of scientists are now considering is that the original 'list' applies to cellular life; viruses are a life-form, just of a different sort.
2006-10-31 06:21:57 · answer #2 · answered by Laurelin 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because viruses needs genetics from a host cell it cannot reproduce on it's own. A bacteria reproduces like normal life.
2006-10-31 03:02:37 · answer #3 · answered by Spadesboffin 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because bacteria have metabolisms, that is they essentially eat stuff to get energy to move around and reproduce.
Viruses are just genetic material in a protein package that's shaped to dock with a living cell. They have no metabolism and cannot reproduce by themselves.
It isn't sometimes, it's almost always.
2006-11-01 11:53:15 · answer #4 · answered by corvis_9 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Viruses are obligatory parasites. They are can reproduce only inside another living organism(host). Once outside the host they are non living just like all the other objects. Whereas bacteria can replicate on their own. They dont depend on another living organism for their survival.
2006-10-31 05:32:09 · answer #5 · answered by Preethi SP 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Viruses do not metabolize. In other words, they don't eat or excrete. They're just tiny bits of protein and nucleic acids and they can last indefinitely without any chemical change if stored under right conditions. Also, they can't reproduce on their own and have to use other organisms to duplicate their genetic material. Bacteria do all these three things (eat, excrete, and reproduce) without any outside help.
2006-10-31 03:42:31 · answer #6 · answered by tweenk_pl 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Bacteria produce asexually by dividing while viruses take over the cell of an animal and turn it into a factory where it mass produces other identical virii
2006-10-31 05:23:25 · answer #7 · answered by of Light 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
bacteria are free living organisms...they can survive on their own without a host. Viruses need a host to survive. Without someone to live in, they are not functional
2006-11-07 17:58:47 · answer #8 · answered by suavo 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Bacteria can reproduce by using their own cell structure.
Viruses are obligate parasites, that is to say that they cannot reproduce on their own. They must use the cell of another organism to do this.
2006-10-31 03:11:06 · answer #9 · answered by Sciman 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋