Final answer:
Viruses are unaffected by antibiotics because they lack a cell wall and are acellular entities that require a host to replicate. They contain DNA or RNA, but do not possess other components necessary for independent life, such as a metabolism or ability to maintain homeostasis.
Step-by-step explanation:
Viruses are completely unaffected by antibiotics because they lack a cell wall. Antibiotics work by targeting the cell walls of bacteria, which viruses do not possess. Instead, viruses are acellular entities that depend on host cells to replicate. They lack other cellular components like a plasma membrane, cytoplasm, and ribosomes. Additionally, viruses contain DNA or RNA (not both), encapsulated within a protein coat called a capsid, and they cannot reproduce on their own. To replicate, they must hijack the host cell's machinery. This is unlike bacteria, which are living cells and can reproduce on their own.
Viruses, including DNA viruses, use the host cell's machinery to produce new copies of their genome, but they do not have their own metabolism and cannot maintain homeostasis, which further distances them from being considered living organisms and responsive to antibiotics.