Not pursuit of life or meaning of life. I mean..what distinguishes a rock from a tree? What is that essence?

You figure it out?

Are viruses life?

Are prions?

Is a virus alive? Why or why not?

This actually is an interesting topic with lots of implications on research for how life first began. The line between life and not-life isn't always as clear as you might expect.

Why wouldn't virus be alive? Are they not organisms?

Are viruses alive?

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Living things have cells. Viruses do not have cells.

Living things reproduce. In general, cells reproduce by making a copy of their DNA. Unlike cells, viruses do not have the tools to make a copy of their DNA.

Living things use energy. Outside of a host cell, viruses do not use any energy.

Living things respond to their environment. Whether or not viruses really respond to the environment is a subject of debate.

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Quote:

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What's the final answer?

When scientists apply this list of criteria to determine if a virus is alive, the answer remains unclear. Because of this, the debate of whether viruses are living or non-living continues. As the understanding of viruses continues to develop, scientists may eventually reach a final decision on this question.

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CM Trump Voter said:

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Why wouldn't virus be alive? Are they not organisms?

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Not really. They are just genetic material and a protein shell.

Any argument you can make that viruses are alive can be made for a computer virus being alive

Duncan Idaho said:

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CM Trump Voter said:

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Why wouldn't virus be alive? Are they not organisms?

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Not really. They are just genetic material and a protein shell.

Any argument you can make that viruses are alive can be made for a computer virus being alive

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Thanks! I'm excited about this thread

if you are bored this is a fun watch

A magazine.

Duncan Idaho said:

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CM Trump Voter said:

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Why wouldn't virus be alive? Are they not organisms?

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Not really. They are just genetic material and a protein shell.

Any argument you can make that viruses are alive can be made for a computer virus being alive

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Change out protein for phospholipid and you have us.

That which can die/be killed.

McKelveysCurse said:

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That which can die/be killed.

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Just to keep digging, can you define "die" or "be killed" without using "life"? Otherwise it becomes a circular definition.

Life is a word we made up, with a definition which allows us to easily categorize most things in a useful way. That definition is pretty arbitrary for some edge cases.

To kill something which most would consider not alive means to do something which takes away some function, particularly the ability to replicate. For example, viral vaccines which are irradiated to prevent replication are often called killed vaccines.

Quote:

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Living things reproduce. In general, cells reproduce by making a copy of their DNA. Unlike cells, viruses do not have the tools to make a copy of their DNA.

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Shots fired at all the incels

ramblin_ag02 said:

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Quote:

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Living things reproduce. In general, cells reproduce by making a copy of their DNA. Unlike cells, viruses do not have the tools to make a copy of their DNA.

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Shots fired at all the incels

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Better than from them

I wish I would have screenshotted this because before the edit with your response, I giggled so loud.

I didn't respond because I didn't want to spoil the magic.