Should Viruses Be Considered Dead

The biological significance of this article is due in part to the fact that viruses are being considered as partway-living things. Even though they are only halfway living, per se, they are still an important part of the study of living things because of the unique way in which they “live” and continue to reproduce by taking advantage of host cells. The information in this article relates to biologists in that viruses provide an entirely different element of potential life, as they are a cause for reconsideration when it comes to defining and determining life and non-life forms. This

Viruses are microscopic particles that invade and take over both eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells. They consist of two structures, which are the nucleic acid and capsid. The nucleic acid contains all genetic material in the form of DNA or RNA, and is enclosed in the capsid, which is the protein coating that helps the virus attach to and penetrate the host cell. In some cases, certain viruses have a membrane surrounding the capsid, called an envelope. This structure allows viruses to become more stealthy and protected. There are two cycles in which a virus can go into: lytic and lysogenic. The lytic cycle consists of the virus attaching to a cell, injecting its DNA, and creating more viruses, which proceed to destroy the host. On the other hand, the lysogenic cycle includes the virus attaching to the cell, injecting its DNA, which combines with the cell’s DNA in order for it to become provirus. Then, the provirus DNA may eventually switch to the lytic cycle and destroy the host.

There are many debates on whether viruses are living or nonliving cells. Viruses are organisms that infect living cells around its area. The characteristics of life describe a living cell and viruses only exemplify a few of those things such as adapting to their environment and containing a well-organized system. While viruses do portray some characteristics of life, they don’t reproduce, grow/develop, or display metabolism. Based on these viruses are not living.

Unlike bacteria, that have everything it needs to reproduce, viruses need to use a living cell's organelles in order to replicate.

Viruses are microscopic organisms that can only replicate inside cells of the host organism. Viruses for the most part are so small you would have to use a conventional optical microscope. Viruses can infect any and all types of organisms, such as animals (to include Humans), plants and even bacteria as well as archaea (archaea constitutes a domain or kingdom of single-celled microorganisms). There are millions of different types of viruses. With viruses being believed to be the most abundant type of biological entity, they can be virtually found in every ecosystem on the planet.

In theory they would become more and more dependent upon the cell, while simultaneously losing bits of their own genetic material in the process. Given all of the supporting facts, viruses seem to be very much alive.

A virus is a small nucleic acid molecule that can only multiply within a living cell of the actual host. It can produce a copy of that specific virus at an alarming rate. They are becoming more dangerous today. We need to build a better knowledge base to educate healthcare professionals and parents that bacteria and viruses are two different animals. Giving an antibiotic for a virus is not going to help; it will eventually cause antibiotic resistance. With viruses, the symptoms just need to be managed with over the counter medication, rest, and letting it run its course.

A virus is an infecting agent. Viruses are non-living they need a living host, a living organism to replicate themselves. When it invades a cell it will implant their code that is capable of copying itself. This will cause a detrimental effect, corrupting the system ti its advantage or complete destruction.

3.Most virus's stay and affect peple in the same way which means thta they aren't really changing

The first reasoning that the author said was that viruses are alive through their shapes and sizes. Shapes and sizes are one of the main factors in identifying if a substance is dead or alive. Growth is one of the characteristics of living things. The author said many viruses are tiny

Did you know the name virus was coined from the word meaning slimy liquid or poison?In the document "study adds to evidence that viruses are alive" Diana Yates builds an argument to persuade the audience that viruses are living entities that share history with cells. Yates uses evidence, reasoning, stylistic and persuasive elements to, strengthen the logic and persuasiveness of her argument.

Kevin, althought you made good points I think you are making this more confusing than it is. I'm not talking about what a object contains, but what is made up of and live in. For example, we live in air and their is air in our body, not like a fish in a fish tank. That is why I dissigree with you and I think that viruses are alive.

Well a characteristic of a living thing is that they can reproduce. Reproducing is in essence creating more of you or creating organism that mimic or genetic coding. Viruses can reproduce both sexually and asexually. If a virus reproduces sexually it takes to cells to create another; however, asexually takes only one cell to create more it does this by splitting itself apart which can be compared to mitosis (a type of cell division in which two daughter cells each having the same number and kind of chromosomes as the parent nucleus). Since living things can reproduce and their is no set type of reproduction identifying living things a virus in this instance is

A virulent virus is more severe, the cell of the living host is completely taken over by the viral genome. Once inside the host cell, the viral genome replicates and kills the host cell upon exit. An example of this is HIV. HIV is a virus that presents immunodeficiency, the immune system being comprised results in a weakened ability to fight off infection. HIV is transmitted through blood and some bodily fluids (NHS 2014). The virion RNA integrates with the host DNA producing replications of the viral RNA, these replications form buds on the outer membrane of the host cell, these detach from the host cell and find new cells to infect, the host cell is eventually destroyed.

Viruses are known to be very small organisms and most viruses cannot be seen with an ordinary microscope. They are comprised of a little number of qualities as DNA or RNA encompassed by a protein covering. A virus must enter a living cell and "commandeer" the cell 's hardware so as to duplicate and make more viruses. Some viruses do this by embedding their own DNA (or RNA) into that of the host cell. At this point the DNA or RNA influences the host cell 's qualities and can push the cell toward becoming cancerous (American Cancer Society). There are several ways that a virus can cause cancer. Some viruses can cause chronic inflammation. The chronic inflammation that is brought on by the virus is when there is an increase in the cell division. By the cell division increasing and making new cells to replace damaged cells, usually results in the risk that a genetic mutation will take place. Therefore, inflammation caused by some of these viruses leads to increase cell division, which leads to a greater chance that errors in genetic material will take place and will eventually lead to cancer. There are also some viruses that may directly damage the DNA within the cells causing them to result into cancer and alter the immune system, so that it is less able to fight off cancer cells (Fayed).