Should Viruses Be Considered Living
Should Viruses Be Considered “The Walking Dead”?
Viruses are often misunderstood because they are so similar to bacteria, yet they aren’t living. This seems impossible. How can something so sinister not be a living thing? Think about the damage viruses do. How they multiply and invade and make us so miserable. Yet viruses should not be considered living because they do not possess the three most important characteristics of life: reproduction, homeostasis, and metabolism. Viruses cannot multiply without a host, which isn’t even reproduction. The definition of reproduction is, the production of offspring by a sexual or asexual process. Viruses use a host cell to reproduce, but this is not a form of reproduction. The process that viruses use to reproduce is called viral replication. Viral Replication is when viruses use that host cell to make copies of itself, and at the same time breaking down the cells immune system and eventually taking over the whole cell. There are two types of viral replication. One type is the Lytic Cycle, this is the viral replication process that rapidly kills a host cell. The other kind of viral replication is called the Lysogenic Cycle. In this replication process, the virus does not immediately kill a host cell. Viral Replication does not show growth and development of cells over time. There is no heredity it just simply creates an exact replica of the same virus with the same DNA. Critics would say that viruses use cells inside the host to reproduce asexually, but whether the reproduction is a-sexual or sexual it is not considered reproduction if it is through a host.
Metabolism’s use the ability to reproduce, is also a characteristic of living things. Metabolism means the ability to collect and use energy. Chemical reactions in living cells constantly change molecules into forms of life forms we can use. The energy a lion uses to run and jump comes from breaking big food molecules into smaller pieces that can be used or stored
Viruses are often misunderstood because they are so similar to bacteria, yet they aren’t living. This seems impossible. How can something so sinister not be a living thing? Think about the damage viruses do. How they multiply and invade and make us so miserable. Yet viruses should not be considered living because they do not possess the three most important characteristics of life: reproduction, homeostasis, and metabolism. Viruses cannot multiply without a host, which isn’t even reproduction. The definition of reproduction is, the production of offspring by a sexual or asexual process. Viruses use a host cell to reproduce, but this is not a form of reproduction. The process that viruses use to reproduce is called viral replication. Viral Replication is when viruses use that host cell to make copies of itself, and at the same time breaking down the cells immune system and eventually taking over the whole cell. There are two types of viral replication. One type is the Lytic Cycle, this is the viral replication process that rapidly kills a host cell. The other kind of viral replication is called the Lysogenic Cycle. In this replication process, the virus does not immediately kill a host cell. Viral Replication does not show growth and development of cells over time. There is no heredity it just simply creates an exact replica of the same virus with the same DNA. Critics would say that viruses use cells inside the host to reproduce asexually, but whether the reproduction is a-sexual or sexual it is not considered reproduction if it is through a host.
Metabolism’s use the ability to reproduce, is also a characteristic of living things. Metabolism means the ability to collect and use energy. Chemical reactions in living cells constantly change molecules into forms of life forms we can use. The energy a lion uses to run and jump comes from breaking big food molecules into smaller pieces that can be used or stored