Eli5: what exactly is a virus and are viruses alive?
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In general viruses are not considered to be alive. Viruses come in many forms but usually contain (1) a genome that contains the code to make the viral proteins, (2) some proteins that can help the virus enter the cells of an organism as well as kick start its replication (making more viruses) in another organisms cells. Viruses are not considered living because they are highly depended on a host to do anything.
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