Eli5: what exactly is a virus and are viruses alive?
In: 130
what’s really going to bake your noodle later on is whether a prion is alive… A self-replicating protein that can kill you. It can survive disinfectants, it can survive boiling, it can survive on scapels and spread to patients via surgery.
Simply put its like a little case made of proteins that contains DNA or RNA (if you don’t know what RNA is think of it like simpler dna cut in half so there’s on on strand)
Virus will enter a cell and inject their DNA/RNA into the nucleus of the cell (think of it like a control centre where the cells DNA is normally reproduced). The virus pretty much forces the cell to use the DNA/RNA it gave it and replicate that, creating more of the virus instead of using its own dna to make more cells.
Edit: see u/iwasmurderhornets comment [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/11uezbk/comment/jcsaeex/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3), which clearly shows that viruses are NOT alive; they rely on a cell’s mechanisms, and that cell is the actual living sub-unit.
Life = Requires protein to build cells
Protein = DNA + RNA
Virus = RNA
Virus + Host cell = RNA + DNA = Virus becomes alive, Host cell dies
Virus replicates, Host cells die
So Virus IMV is neither dead nor alive, till it meets an Host that ‘accepts’ it
Edit: see u/iwasmurderhornets comment [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/11uezbk/comment/jcsaeex/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3), which clearly shows that viruses are NOT alive; they rely on a cell’s mechanisms, and that cell is the actual living sub-unit.
Life = Requires protein to build cells
Protein = DNA + RNA
Virus = RNA
Virus + Host cell = RNA + DNA = Virus becomes alive, Host cell dies
Virus replicates, Host cells die
So Virus IMV is neither dead nor alive, till it meets an Host that ‘accepts’ it
Simply put its like a little case made of proteins that contains DNA or RNA (if you don’t know what RNA is think of it like simpler dna cut in half so there’s on on strand)
Virus will enter a cell and inject their DNA/RNA into the nucleus of the cell (think of it like a control centre where the cells DNA is normally reproduced). The virus pretty much forces the cell to use the DNA/RNA it gave it and replicate that, creating more of the virus instead of using its own dna to make more cells.
Simply put its like a little case made of proteins that contains DNA or RNA (if you don’t know what RNA is think of it like simpler dna cut in half so there’s on on strand)
Virus will enter a cell and inject their DNA/RNA into the nucleus of the cell (think of it like a control centre where the cells DNA is normally reproduced). The virus pretty much forces the cell to use the DNA/RNA it gave it and replicate that, creating more of the virus instead of using its own dna to make more cells.
Incan think of three ways to look at “is a virus alive?”
The scientific way, which is where the “kind of alive kind of not” thing comes from. The other responses in this thread address this in more depth. I’ll summarize that it has half the building blocks of “life” so it falls in a gray area.
The philosophical interpretation. What does it mean to be alive? To have memories and experiences? Recognize yourself in a memory or have a sense of self? To have empathy and selflessness? It’s up to debate. Is a virus truly alive? What about a plant, or an insect? A dog? Are humans truly living or are they all a part of a predetermined illusion of life?
And a metaphorical interpretation. This is like personification. A virus, your robot vacuum, an F-15—you can say you killed any of those and it would make sense, so saying they’re still live targets is also valid.
[Unexplainable](https://megaphone.link/VMP8592865804) did a podcast on this last week. The Meaning of Life.
It comes down to what your definition of “alive” is.
Viruses replicate but need another cell to do it for them. Red blood cells would be considered alive, but have no DNA to replicate themselves. It’s gets complicated in the details.
[Unexplainable](https://megaphone.link/VMP8592865804) did a podcast on this last week. The Meaning of Life.
It comes down to what your definition of “alive” is.
Viruses replicate but need another cell to do it for them. Red blood cells would be considered alive, but have no DNA to replicate themselves. It’s gets complicated in the details.
what’s really going to bake your noodle later on is whether a prion is alive… A self-replicating protein that can kill you. It can survive disinfectants, it can survive boiling, it can survive on scapels and spread to patients via surgery.
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