How is bacteria considered to be nonliving?

Question

is it because they reproduce by binary fission and just thus, only make copies of each other, so no new life is created? Is that why?

Answer 1

bacteria is living...it's just made up of different types of cells than people, animals and plants are.

Answer 2

dude bacteria are living organisms in fact they are the oldest living organisms in the planet. :]

Answer 3

I think you're a little confused.

Bacteria are absolutely considered to be living species.

Also, even though bacteria divide by binary fission they are still capable of sexual genetic exchange ( a phenomenon called conjugation) which allows for new and diverse strains and types of a given species.

It is the viruses and prions than are considered non-living but still manage to be pathogenic.

Answer 4

Bacteria is life. Every single thing on earth that can replicate or reproduce itself in any manner is considered  a life form. Many people today take it a step even further. Many people believe that everything is alive including rock forms and planets and atoms. This is because all physical objects are formed from energy. All species no matter how primitive, such as bacteria, are composed of energy from atoms, the true building blocks of the universe. Therefore, energy itself is considered by many to be life.

Answer 5

You do seem a little confused here.  Bacteria are considered the first kind of living organisms on this planet, and they exist in the largest numbers of any living creature.  What you're probably trying to talk about are viruses, or possibly prions.  Viruses cannot reproduce by themselves, and are therefore considered in many circles to be nonliving.  Prions are simply misfolded proteins that change other proteins (mainly found in teh brain) to make them into prions, thus degrading tissues.