Eli5: what exactly is a virus and are viruses alive?
In: 130
What a virus is: a short set of DNA or RNA inside a protein case.
This DNA/RNA code is used to override the normal cellular machinery of a host cell in order to create many copies of the virus DNA/RNA and its protein case (instead of what it would normally do such as create copies of its own DNA, proteins or cellular functions). It does this until the host cell literally bursts and dies, releasing the new virus particles.
Whether a virus is alive: that’s a trickier question.
Traditionally “living” things have been defined by needing to eat for energy, needing to reproduce, and the ability to change or adapt.
Since viruses typically spend a lot of time in an inert, stasis like state until coming into contact with a suitable host, and having no inherent metabolic processes or requirements in that state, they fall short of the typical requirement of requiring energy and having a method to process it.
They also are obligate parasites in terms of reproduction and change. They can’t reproduce or change outside of the brief period when they are infecting a host cell.
Oso while they don’t meet the traditional requirements kd life, they aren’t dead either. They are somewhere in between.
That said, the definition of life as it pertains to viruses is a hot topic in the scientific community.
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