Are viruses the only non-living entity studied in biology

Question

Biology is the study of living things and all living things are on the tree of life.

Viruses are not on the tree of life because they are not alive (I realize this is debatable). So are viruses the only non-living entity studied in biology, the field of living things?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

In: 1

Answer 1

If, for argument’s sake, we accept that viruses are non-living, prions, being merely bits of misfolded proteins, are even further along the non-living scale, and they are studied by biologists, usually by medical researchers.