Why aren't viruses living?

Question

Can you give me two reasons why they aren't?

thank you :)

Answer 1

Erm..think of the 7 things all living things must possess....

Do viruses have the following characteristics?...

1)Movement

2)Respiration

3)Sensitivity

4)Nutrition

5)Excretion

6)Reproduction

7)Growth

If just one of these charactertics us missing then it is not living.

In the case of a virus, they cannot reproduce or use their genetic material unless they invade a living cell- they are parasites. Viruses are just strands of DNA with a protein covering.

Answer 2

1. They can't replicate independently.

2. They have no metabolism.

Answer 3

1. Viruses only exhibit a characteristic of life, replication, while inside a host cell. They are obligate parasites and use the host cell's resources to replicate.

2. When not inside a host cell they can take on a crystalline form and remain dormant until they invade a new host cell.

Hope this helps!

Answer 4

when we say that organisms live this means that they can:

-reproduce

-respire

-feed

-move

-excrete

-respond

-grow

the only thing that viruses can do is reproduce . this is the reason why they r mostly considered as chemicals rather than living organisms

Answer 5

By some definitions they are, by others they aren't. It all depends on the definition of life. Look it up on wikipedia if you're really interested.