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2007-09-04 18:42:34 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics Botany

8 answers

Virus is a microscopic organism that lives in a cell of another living thing. Although viruses are extremely small and simple, they are a major cause of disease.

Viruses are so primitive that many scientists consider them to be both living and nonliving things. By itself, a virus is a lifeless particle that cannot reproduce. But inside a living cell, a virus becomes an active organism that can multiply hundreds of times.

2007-09-04 19:41:39 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

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2016-08-25 01:59:05 · answer #2 · answered by ? 3 · 0 0

As humans, we like to classify things because it helps us understand the physical world. Viruses must have a host cell to live and reproduce. Outside of the host cell, viruses are pieces of genetic molecules that can do nothing by themselves. Viruses are right on the border between living and nonliving. Some biologists currently see the virus as a nonliving infectious particle. Other biologists disagree and suggest they are alive because of what happens inside the host cell.

Getting a definite answer if viruses are alive or not may never happen.

But hey, that's life.

2007-09-04 18:56:38 · answer #3 · answered by look4dhwanil 1 · 0 0

A virus (from the Latin noun virus, meaning toxin or poison) is a sub-microscopic particle (ranging in size from 20–300 nm) that can infect the cells of a biological organism.

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. For example, unlike living organisms as defined, viruses do not respond to changes in the environment.

2007-09-04 18:49:56 · answer #4 · answered by devyani b 2 · 0 0

In taxonomy, the classification of viruses is rather difficult due to the lack of a fossil record and the dispute over whether they are living or non-living. They do not fit easily into any of the domains of biological classification and therefore classification begins at the family rank. However, the domain name of Acytota has been suggested. This would place viruses on a par with the other domains of Eubacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya. Not all families are currently classified into orders, nor all genera classified into families.

As an example of viral classification, the chicken pox virus belongs to family Herpesviridae, subfamily Alphaherpesvirinae and genus Varicellovirus. It remains unranked in terms of order. The general structure is as follows.

Order (-virales) > Family (-viridae) > Subfamily (-virinae) > Genus (-virus) > Species (-virus)

The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) developed the current classification system and put in place guidelines that put a greater weighting on certain virus properties in order to maintain family uniformity. In determining order, taxonomists should consider the type of nucleic acid present, whether the nucleic acid is single- or double-stranded, and the presence or absence of an envelope. After these three main properties, other characteristics can be considered: the type of host, the capsid shape, immunological properties and the type of disease it causes.

In addition to this classification system, the Nobel Prize-winning biologist David Baltimore devised the Baltimore classification system. This places a virus into one of seven Groups, which distinguish viruses based on their mode of replication and genome type. The ICTV classification system is used in conjunction with the Baltimore classification system in modern virus classification.

2007-09-05 00:25:46 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

For something to be residing, some standards must be met. the undertaking in question ought to be able to: a million. Excrete 2. respond to stimuli 3. Reproduce 4. Respire 5. habit nutrients 6. improve 7. Adapt in case you're taking a different look, viruses do no longer do a large style of issues that residing issues do. apart from, you need to think of if viruses are categorized as residing issues, then do particular robots or computers that we create be categorized as residing issues too? for this reason, I say viruses are non-residing, however there are human beings which say that they are residing.

2016-10-18 00:15:01 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

Most scientists consider viruses non-living. They have almost
none of the characteristics of living organisms - they do not
eat, metabolize, reproduce, etc. All they can do is latch onto
some living organism and force its metabolic system to
make more virus particles.

2007-09-06 04:41:28 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

Viruses are unique organisms as they exhibit the characteristics of both living organisms and non-living things. On the one hand, if they are floating in air or setteled on a door knob,they are non-living like salt and sugar. But,if they come in contact with a suitable plant, animal or bacteria,they show the characteristicsof living organisms. They infect the cell and quickly multiple inside it. Therefore, they are considered at the borderline between living and non-living.

2007-09-04 20:14:50 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0 1

Hi. A virus simply responds to whatever it experiences. Life has, as one of its requirements, 'sensitivity'. In this sense a virus is alive.

2007-09-04 18:46:44 · answer #9 · answered by Cirric 7 · 0 0

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