Viruses are infectious beings, very small, and do not see with the naked eye, many scientists differed about whether viruses are living beings or not, as living organisms, such as plants and animals, contain cellular mechanisms that allow them to self-replicate, in contrast, viruses are a phrase Its forms consist of DNA and protein.

They cannot repeat themselves on their own, said Dr. Otto Yang, professor of medicine, microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics at David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, that viruses need to invade an organism in order to replicate and increase their number. , Where viruses are alive only when they invade the organism but are outside the living organism are not living, since viruses when they invade the cells of the organism use the mechanisms of the cells to repeat themselves (the protein and nucleic acid of the organism).

Countless philosophers and scholars have discussed how to determine a living organism, according to seven characteristics, namely (organisms must be able to respond to stimuli, organisms must grow over time, can produce offspring, maintain a stable body temperature, produce energy (Living organisms consist of one or more cells, and they can also adapt to their environment), and viruses do not meet these characteristics, so they are non-living beings.

"Take a cat, plant and rock", leave them in a room for days, and then come back after a few days and notice them, you will find the cat and plant changed, but the rock will not change And they will remain as they are, and like rocks, most viruses will remain as they are if they are left indefinitely in a room as they are activated only within the cells of the organism, and in addition, Adlaga pointed out that living organisms have self-growth, self-sustaining procedures.

This means that they can seek food and self-preservation, in other words, "they take measures to preserve their lives, for example the plant is growing roots to find water, or the animal that seeks to search for food. Adalja also said that the virus He has no self-sustaining or self-sustaining procedures, and Adalja said, "I do not think that viruses are living beings. In essence, they are inactive only to come into contact with a living cell."

"Without a cell, the virus cannot reproduce, and from this standpoint, it really is not a living being, and for a living organism to reproduce itself independently, but that does not happen with the virus," Yang said.

  Sources :  universemagic