How are bacteria and viruses similiar? How are they different?

Answer 1

Both bacteria and viruses have nucleic acids and proteins, reproduce using these nucleic acids, undergo transcription and translation. Some viruses have membranes too, but they don't serve the same biological functions that bacterial membranes do. Both viruses and bacteria are microscopic, and both cause disease on occasion.

Unlike bacteria, viruses don't metabolize, don't have organelles, and have no cytoplasm.

Most virologists will tell you viruses are very much alive. There are plenty of bacteria and fungi that exist in dormant spore form until they encouter their host, but we still consider them to be alive.

Answer 2

There are a lot of similarities and differences. But I'll list a few.

They both are microscopic and are well-known as the cause of many diseases.

However, bacteria is living and viruses are neither living nor non-living (that is, the scientific community has not yet decided if it should be considered alive or not). Also, bacteria does many good things (.e.g. bacteria is needed to make some cheeses; and there are e.coli in our intestines and they help us digest food), while viruses are not quite known for doing much for humanity.

Answer 3

Bacteria and viruses are similar in being microscopic. Some are able to cause diseases in living organisms.

Bacteria are different from viruses in that bacteria are living organisms, viruses are not. Bacteria carry DNA or RNA and the cell machinery they need to replicate it, but viruses are completely reliant on a host cell and its complement of cell machinery to be able to replicate their DNA or RNA.

Answer 4

Bacteria can replicate on their own. Viruses need a host's machinery of replication to replicate. For one reason.