2007-02-21 11:38:11 · 4 answers · asked by iHEARTjuicy 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Biology
A virus does not have its own 'machinary' to produce its proteins on its own...it does not have cytoplasm and ribosomes needed to protein synthesis
It needs to depend on the host cell to replicate itself, and is only 'alive' in the host cell
there are arguments that it is alive becasue a living thing is defined as something that has its own genetic material and is able to replicate...
2007-02-21 11:43:54 · answer #1 · answered by lam_tensai 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well I would google for articles by a world-renowned virologist, Dr. Luis Villarreal. He is a professor at UC Irvine and has written many articles about this question in popular science magazines such as Scientific American and newpapers like the LA Times. Also Wikipedia is good, I know for a fact that he edits their virology section so it should be pretty informative. Just type in "are viruses alive" into google and you should find some good articles, the Scientific American one however costs money so you will need to visit a library or if you are in university just download from a campus computer since they will have a subscription. Good luck.
2007-02-22 00:26:19 · answer #2 · answered by rgomezam 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
OK....I'm a bio teacher and this is what I would expect in that report...
First, go to the chapter in your book that lists the characteristics of living things. It's most likely chapter 1 or 2. Now, go through the list and describe each step and say if it applies to a virus or not. After you go through the entire list (there should be about 7, depending on your publisher), explain that since not all characteristics apply to a virus, a virus is not a living organism.
2007-02-21 20:39:08 · answer #3 · answered by JLB 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
nobody knows for sure, but if you look in most science books, they will say that a virus is not a living thing because to be classified as alive you have to:
move and obtain enery
be able to reproduce
respond to the environment
grow, develope, and die. so far nobody knows if a virus is alive or not. people say it is alive because a virus does have DNA and RNA and is made up of more then one cell. so there is no "real" way to answer your question
2007-02-21 19:51:43 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋