Are Viruses Alive?

Many people are under the wrong impression that viruses and bacteria are the same, or at least similar, because they both cause disease. Due to this popular belief, the term “error” is generally used to describe both. However, there is a greater difference between viruses and bacteria than between bacteria and people. Even the smallest bacteria are thousands of times larger than a virus.

Still, viruses are more dangerous. Take the case of the flu, for example. The virus that causes flu symptoms doesn’t just get under the skin, it goes right into the cells and takes over. And if you can kill bacteria with antibiotics, you have no chance with viruses, as they have no effect. But are viruses alive, like bacteria?

Unfortunately, as incredible as it may sound, this is a question without a clear answer. Viruses are particles, consisting of a DNA or RNA (ribonucleic acid) molecule surrounded by a protective coating, and they reproduce by transferring their DNA to a living cell. Basically, they take over and turn the cell into a factory to produce new viruses. The hijacked cell uses all its energy to produce hundreds or thousands of new viruses and then explodes, releasing them to the world.

It is not yet clear whether viruses are alive or not, because defining life is not really as simple as it seems. If we define life on the basis of cells, viruses are definitely not alive. Cells are surrounded by a membrane in which the functions of life (energy, growth, reproduction) take place. Viruses, however, do not have cell membranes, do not grow and do not produce or digest food, so under this definition they cannot be considered living beings such as bacteria.

Still, if we take another definition adopted by some biologists, life would be defined by the ability to transmit genetic information from generation to generation. In light of this theory, viruses are definitely alive. Although they do not grow after leaving the cell, they do grow as the cell builds them and use the cell’s mechanism to convert food into new viruses.

Simply put, a clear answer cannot yet be given, as viruses do not really fit into any class, living or non-living. Some biologists even propose that viruses are more closely related to their hosts than to other viruses, due to the similarities of the DNA in the virus and the host.