Eli5: what exactly is a virus and are viruses alive?
In: 130
A virus is a strand of information that infects a host and causes the host to reproduce and spread that information. In the case of a biological virus, the information is DNA, but there are other kinds of viruses which exist in other media, such as memes and computer viruses.
There is some debate about if viruses are alive and I am firmly in the camp that they are not. A key element of being alive is processing the local environment to stay alive; You know: eating, drinking, breathing, photosynthesis, etc. Virus are fundamentally unable to do that even when they are in a biological media.
Viruses are right at the edge of what’s alive and what isn’t; arguing the toss is a somewhat sterile occupation. They’re basically a parcel of instructions and a few useful tools. They can’t reproduce on their own, but they’re biological and they can trick cells into producing more copies of them.
Somebody delivered an instruction manual in your door and you open it read it and changed the way you run your house that includes your printer. Somehow you printed more copies of the manual before the whole house is in disarray because of new rules and instructions it become dysfunctional and destroyed itself. Somehow the copies of the manual made it to the next few houses and repeats the process.
Somebody delivered an instruction manual in your door and you open it read it and changed the way you run your house that includes your printer. Somehow you printed more copies of the manual before the whole house is in disarray because of new rules and instructions it become dysfunctional and destroyed itself. Somehow the copies of the manual made it to the next few houses and repeats the process.
A virus is a strand of information that infects a host and causes the host to reproduce and spread that information. In the case of a biological virus, the information is DNA, but there are other kinds of viruses which exist in other media, such as memes and computer viruses.
There is some debate about if viruses are alive and I am firmly in the camp that they are not. A key element of being alive is processing the local environment to stay alive; You know: eating, drinking, breathing, photosynthesis, etc. Virus are fundamentally unable to do that even when they are in a biological media.
Viruses are right at the edge of what’s alive and what isn’t; arguing the toss is a somewhat sterile occupation. They’re basically a parcel of instructions and a few useful tools. They can’t reproduce on their own, but they’re biological and they can trick cells into producing more copies of them.
So I’m really stupid. Let’s try to explain: virus is sick 🤒 in body. It is dangerous if not treated with antibiotics or the right medication. Natural healing is not to be taken lightly. Hmm 🤔 did I pass?
So I’m really stupid. Let’s try to explain: virus is sick 🤒 in body. It is dangerous if not treated with antibiotics or the right medication. Natural healing is not to be taken lightly. Hmm 🤔 did I pass?
Oooo I love this debate. People will try to tell you it’s settled one way another but they are wrong. Personally I think if you looked at all this universe and classified them into living and not living viruses would very obviously be alive. They look so much more like life, but they don’t self replicate. It’s semantics but it does matter. What is life? Why do we are?
Viruses have RNA which is basically half DNA. They replicate by inserting their RNA into other beings which then replicate itself and the process repeats.
In the sense that it moves, replicates, and can be killed, it is a living thing and considered the most basic class of living thing AFAIK.
Latest Answers