Why Are Viruses Important?

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

All pathogens need a source of food to provide them with a source of energy and nutrients they need to multiply. Often they get it from the body of the infected individual.

A virus is a small capsule that contains DNA or RNA, viruses, unlike bacteria are not self sufficient and need a host in

One of the most complex and unexplored disease causing agents are viruses. They are known to be able to infect a wide array of organisms, from plants and animals, to bacteria and fungi. Essentially, anything that is living is capable of being infected with a virus. Once the host's cell is infected, the viruses' goal is to produce more viruses which will infect neighboring cells to continue the cycle.

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.

Within almost a decade after Akhenaten's death, everything was beginning to go back to normal. Under the reign of Horemheb who was a young King at the time, he restored everything Akhenaten had done. The religion, art, God and the capital, all restored as the young Pharaoh took over. He had the men of the army going and destroying everything that had anything to do with Akhenaten was destroyed. Sculpture, anything that had his face or his families face, and his palace. They wanted him to be forgotten and they would have succeeded if the men would have done a better job. Unfortunately for both King Tutankhamun and Horemheb, the men only partially did their jobs. Destroying only partical or half of the things items. Leaving out faces or words

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

After looking at many articles I believe that viruses are not alive. Even though in the beginning I believed they were. For an object to be alive it needs to have certain characteristics such as being able to: grow, develop, have a purpose, reproduce, adapt, and have cells. A living thing could reproduce which means they would make offspring. Viruses don't have the ability to grow and develop on their own. Viruses don’t have the ability to reproduce on their own without the help of a keeper

Although Type A viruses undergo both types of changes, Type B only go through the more gradual Type B.

For example, viruses do not use energy and raw materials to grow and reproduce, and they are not made of one or more of the basic fundamental units of life – a cell. Compared to a cell, which includes organelles that enable the structure to grow and reproduce, a virus can only reproduce if another cell is present and that cell has organelles that the virus can inject its own DNA or RNA into and use it for its own replicating or mutating purposes. Viruses are made of a protein coat or capsid with its DNA or RNA genetic material enclosed inside of the capsid. In comparison, in addition to having organelles that use energy to help the cell develop, grow, and reproduce with the help of DNA, the cell by definition is enclosed in a membranous boundary,

It is often argued whether viruses are living or not. Those who don’t believe that viruses are living generally base their opinion off of the fact that they do not follow the basic definition of “life”. They do not carry out life-sustaining functions on their own like normal organisms. On the other side of the argument, some believe that viruses are in fact, living beings, which is where I rest my opinion.

Homeostasis is when a living organism regulates its internal environment in order to keep balance in their body. Viruses do not have homeostasis because in the text, “Are Viruses Alive or Dead”, written in Khan Academy, it informs that viruses have virions they can not be balance because they do not have cells like living things to balance their internal environment. This explains why viruses do not need homeostasis, therefore it is not alive. Displaying organization is the third characteristic that is absent in a virus. Scientists see viruses as a chemistry set more than an actual living thing, based on the article, “Are Viruses Alive”, by Luis P. Villarreal written in August 8,2008.

The protective capsid helps the virus escape detection and destruction during the invasion of the host. When the virus reaches the target cell, biochemical reactions between the capsid and cell wall allow the virus to latch on and inject its genome into the cell’s interior. Once inside, the viral genetic material insinuates itself into the host’s DNA or RNA. In an efficient feat of natural bioengineering, the host cell’s genetic machinery now does the rest of the work for the virus. The cell, which had already been making copies of its own genome, now also replicates that of the virus. Coded within the viral material is the blueprint for making more copies of the viral genome. Further instructions command the production of capsids and directions for assembly of new viruses. After the host cell becomes engorged with viruses, it explodes, sending the new

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

Hanta virus like all other viri are some of the smallest organisms known to man. Their existence as living organisms is debated. Viri perform only the most basic functions of life. They seek