Are viruses life?
Are viruses life?
I suspect there's no sharp distinction between life and non-life. There's a continuous spectrum:
- non-concrete concepts
- inorganic combounds
- organic compounds
- prions, etc.
- viruses, etc.
- bacteria, cyanobacteria, etc.
- complex 1-celled organisms
- multi-cell organisms
- supernatural beings, God, etc.
All this could give the basis for a modern class system for languages, replacing the old Masculine, Femenine, and Neutral.
- non-concrete concepts
- inorganic combounds
- organic compounds
- prions, etc.
- viruses, etc.
- bacteria, cyanobacteria, etc.
- complex 1-celled organisms
- multi-cell organisms
- supernatural beings, God, etc.
All this could give the basis for a modern class system for languages, replacing the old Masculine, Femenine, and Neutral.
Well, what about fire? Is fire life? It needs oxygen, it consumes, it gives off waste (smoke and ash), it grows and it can be "killed".
Viruses are not usually thought to be living organisms. They lack organs and they cannot reproduce themselves.
Nor is fire life, since there is no evolution of fire.
Nor is fire life, since there is no evolution of fire.
Try this forum
http://www.biology-online.org/biology-forum/
http://www.biology-online.org/biology-forum/
<<... and they cannot reproduce themselves.>>
Sure, they can, that's why you get ill if you are infected. They use the host organism to reproduce.
Sure, they can, that's why you get ill if you are infected. They use the host organism to reproduce.
<<Sure, they can, that's why you get ill if you are infected. They use the host organism to reproduce. >>
Viruses do not actually reproduce. The host organism produce more copies of a virus, but viruses, lacking own metabolism, cannot reproduce alone.
By organs I ment organelles.
Viruses do not actually reproduce. The host organism produce more copies of a virus, but viruses, lacking own metabolism, cannot reproduce alone.
By organs I ment organelles.
Another guest Wed Dec 31, 2008 6:00 pm GMT:
>><<Sure, they can, that's why you get ill if you are infected. They use the host organism to reproduce. >>
Viruses do not actually reproduce. The host organism produce more copies of a virus, but viruses, lacking own metabolism, cannot reproduce alone.
By organs I ment organelles. <<
Another guest, you should read more thoroughly. Of course they can reproduce, but they cannot reproduce alone, hence I mentioned the host organism. As far as I can remember, ''organelles'' is a term refering to several functional bodies within a single cell, but a virus isn't a cell, and so lacking organelles. It's only an envelope and the viral RNA.
>><<Sure, they can, that's why you get ill if you are infected. They use the host organism to reproduce. >>
Viruses do not actually reproduce. The host organism produce more copies of a virus, but viruses, lacking own metabolism, cannot reproduce alone.
By organs I ment organelles. <<
Another guest, you should read more thoroughly. Of course they can reproduce, but they cannot reproduce alone, hence I mentioned the host organism. As far as I can remember, ''organelles'' is a term refering to several functional bodies within a single cell, but a virus isn't a cell, and so lacking organelles. It's only an envelope and the viral RNA.
"It's 'virii', not viruses."
The use of "virii" as a plural of virus has been exposed as a piece of etymological folklore. To wit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plural_of_virus
The use of "virii" as a plural of virus has been exposed as a piece of etymological folklore. To wit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plural_of_virus
"The use of "virii" as a plural of virus has been exposed as a piece of etymological folklore."
I need to rephrase that sentence.
"The belief that "virii" is an acceptable plural for "virus" has been exposed as a piece of etymological folklore."
I really need to be more diligent about proofreading my posts....
I need to rephrase that sentence.
"The belief that "virii" is an acceptable plural for "virus" has been exposed as a piece of etymological folklore."
I really need to be more diligent about proofreading my posts....
Skywise,
Now I can see where your misunderstanding stems from. I said "they cannot reproduce themselves" instead of "they cannot reproduce by themselves".
In the second post I said that viruses don't actually reproduce, since viruses don't produce anything, but have their DNA/RNA replicated and their proteins produced by the host organism.
But what did I say about organelles (organs due to my mistyping)?
Now I can see where your misunderstanding stems from. I said "they cannot reproduce themselves" instead of "they cannot reproduce by themselves".
In the second post I said that viruses don't actually reproduce, since viruses don't produce anything, but have their DNA/RNA replicated and their proteins produced by the host organism.
But what did I say about organelles (organs due to my mistyping)?