Question

Viruses are living organism? True or false

Answer 1

Most biologists say no. Viruses are not made out of cells, they can't keep themselves in a stable state, they don't grow, and they can't make their own energy. Even though they definitely replicate and adapt to their environment, viruses are more like androids than real living organisms.

Outside of a host cell, viruses do not use any energy. They only become active when they come into contact with a host cell. Once activated, they use the host cell's energy and tools to make more viruses. Because they do not use their own energy, some scientists do not consider them alive.

Answer 2

Most of the biologists consider viruses as non-living organisms, since viruses are not made by cells, can not live without using the cellular machinery of other organisms, and can not grow or make their own energy. For an organism to be considered as alive it has to be able to reproduce and grow, even though viruses replicate and adapt to their environment, they are considered more like an obligatory parasite than a living being. Therefore, if the opinion of the majority of the scientific community is taken into account the answer is false, viruses are not living organisms.