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A virus, as described by the National Human Genome Research Institute, is “an
infectious microbe consisting of a segment of nucleic acid (either DNA or RNA) surrounded by
a protein coat.” There is some debate over whether or not viruses are alive within the scientific
community, but as they do not exhibit all of the characteristics of life, I believe that they cannot
be living, as viruses cannot reproduce on their own, do not carry out metabolic processes, and
lack ribosomes.
A virus, at its heart, is a parasite that requires a host to reproduce. According to the
National Library of Medicine, a virus first must enter the body and “makes physical contact with
and crosses the plasma membrane of a target cell. Inside, it releases and replicates its genome
while facilitating the manufacture of its proteins by host ribosomes.” One of the characteristics
of life is reproduction, and this is a method of reproduction, however, it is not the traditional
method of reproduction. It’s not asexual, when a cell divides on itself, or sexual, when a sperm
cell and an egg cell combine to form a zygote. Instead, it hijacks one of its host’s cells and forces
it to produce more and more of the virus, until the host is filled with the virus. Therefore, it lacks
one of the characteristics of life, meaning that a virus isn’t living.
Living things generate energy in order to survive, and have methods of doing so
themselves. Paraphrasing from Florida State University, viruses take their energy from their
host’s cells, and cannot make or store said energy on their own. One of the characteristics of life
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are metabolic processes, of which viruses don’t produce their energy. Therefore, they cannot be
living, as they fail to meet this characteristic of life.
Ribosomes are, as a general description, a part of the cell that convert proteins into amino
acids. From the National Library of Medicine, “As viruses have no ribosomes… they are
completely dependent on their cellular hosts for energy production and protein synthesis.” This
applies to the characteristic of life known as assimilation, which is the changing of substances
into different substances. As the virus doesn’t have the means to assimilate substances on its
own, it fails to meet this characteristic of life, therefore a virus is nonliving.
However, some may argue that viruses are able to meet these characteristics, albeit
through using their host’s cells. That using a host’s cells to meet the characteristics of life means
that a virus is living. Due to the definition of characteristic, a feature belonging to a person,
place, or thing, this can’t be true, as it’s not the virus that exhibits these characteristics, it’s the
host. Viruses therefore are nonliving.
In summary, viruses aren’t living. They don’t exhibit the characteristics of reproduction,
don’t carry out metabolic processes, and don’t contain ribosomes. Viruses fail to meet these
characteristics of life, all of which a living organism must exhibit. Due to this, viruses are not
living.
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Works Cited
FENNER, FRANK, et al. “Structure and Composition of Viruses.” Veterinary Virology, U.S.
National Library of Medicine, 1987,
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7173599/#:~:text=As%20viruses%20have%20
no%20ribosomes,the%20host%20that%20they%20infect.
Louten, Jennifer. “Virus Replication.” Essential Human Virology, U.S. National Library of
Medicine, 2016,
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7149683/#:~:text=After%20gaining%20entry%
20into%20the,type%20of%20viral%20nucleic%20acid.
“Virus Structure.” Molecular Expressions Cell Biology: Virus Structure,
micro.magnet.fsu.edu/cells/virus.html#:~:text=Viruses%20cannot%20generate%20or%2
0store,%2C%20and%20lipids%20(fats). Accessed 9 Sept. 2023.
“Virus.” Genome.Gov, www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/Virus. Accessed 8 Sept. 2023.