Final answer:
Viruses demonstrate properties of life through their genetic material and the ability to evolve. Despite this, their lack of cellular structure, metabolism, and independent reproduction suggests they are not fully living organisms. The ongoing debate continues about their classification as living or non-living entities.
Step-by-step explanation:
The properties of life displayed by a virus are primarily its genetic material and the capability to evolve. Viruses contain a nucleic acid core (DNA or RNA) that can mutate over time, adding evolutionary pressure on the virus and its host. While these traits align with the characteristics of living organisms, viruses lack many other life properties, such as cellular structure, metabolism, and the ability to reproduce independently. They can only replicate by hijacking the cellular machinery of a host organism. These aspects make viruses unique entities on the borderline between living and non-living things.
An individual virus, known as a virion, is composed of a protective protein coat called a capsid and, in some cases, an outer envelope. The lack of critical components like cytoplasm, ribosomes, and a plasma membrane indicates that viruses are not cells, and thus, they are often not considered fully alive. However, their capacity to evolve through genetic mutations is a hallmark of life, which fuels the ongoing debate about their classification.