Why Are Viruses Alive

Are viruses alive? With new evidence surfacing every day, this is the question that many scientists ask. Based on the article and the video, viruses may actually be alive. Viruses can only replicate inside the living cells of other organisms. Therefore, it would seem that a virus is just dead matter. But, because a virus adapts, multiplies, and thrives, it is no doubt a living agent. Viruses also reproduce. They may need the cell of the organism to do so, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t still multiplying and reproducing just like living cells. Furthermore, viruses grow and change, or rather evolve. “Influenza viruses can evolve in a gradual way through mutations in the genes that relate to the viral surface proteins hemagglutinin and neuraminidase.”