Humans must consume autotrophs, their products, and/or their predators to survive, so why are we considered alive when viruses aren't? Saying that viruses aren't organisms because they have to hijack something else's reproductive system to proliferate seems illogical when we have to hijack the entire physical existence of other organisms to reproduce.
Humans must consume autotrophs, their products, and/or their predators to survive...
Oliver Diaz
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Jace Ward
Biochem here who wants to work in virology. I think my babies are alive.
Jaxson Edwards
Viruses don't eat you dumbfucks
Brayden Jackson
Also, just in case some retard responds with, "They aren't composed of cells so they aren't alive," I'm asking for justification of the extant criterion, not regurgitation of it. I see no functional reason to use the current definition of "alive". There's no perceivable logic.
Any idea what you'll be doing in your field?
Jace Watson
The definition for life is arbitrary. Everything is made up of matter. The same forces that act on inorganic molecules act on you.
Cameron Evans
I didn't say what I meant to say clearly enough, I'm sorry. When I've asked this question to my shitty high school science teacher before he responded that viruses aren't alive because they aren't composed of cells. I responded by saying that that's a requirement devoid of function or logic, it doesn't arise from anything practical. He then said that viruses aren't organisms because they can't reproduce without hijacking something else's DNA or RNA. I then responded with the fact that we hijack other organisms just to survive. So it would seem to me that the criteria for life were pulled out of someone's ass.
And apparently you agree with me.
Carter Adams
The difference between something "alive" and something "not-alive" becomes blurry when you go micro.
The definition of life is arbitrary because originally it was defined through macroscopic characteristics.
Jordan Parker
define "alive" before you start making semantics distinctions
Henry Brown
Your teacher is an idiot because bacteria are considered living and the are ONE cell not multiple cells.
Additionally viruses don't hijack RNA/DNA they hijack proteins, specifically the ones that replicate DNA and translate proteins.
Anyways arguments for viruses being alive or dead are arbitrary, its just we humans have decided that one of the requirements for being alive is that your cells divide.
Thomas Cook
Viruses are genetic material encapsulated in a capsid. If I put a bacteriophage on a blood plate by itself will always remain that way. If I put Bacillus anthracis on a blood plate it will metabolize, express genes, lyse blood cells, and divide.