Eli5-If a virus isn’t technically alive, I would assume it doesn’t have instinct. Where does it get its instructions/drive to know to infect host cells and multiply?
In: 7067
A virus doesn’t even have a nervous system or any organs for that matter, so it can’t have instincts, that’s correct. It can’t move or do anything either. A virus is not an animal, and no, it is definitely not alive. A virus is just a bunch of DNA in a tiny container. If it happens to touch a cell, the cell gets confused and thinks this is its own DNA and starts replicating it, creating many more viruses. Most of these viruses will never get anywhere, but a few will randomly get near other cells because of the movement of bodily fluids or the wind or people coughing, and so they can be replicated again.
Latest Answers