Serendip is an independent site partnering with faculty at multiple colleges and universities around the world. Happy exploring!

Home › Bio 103 Week Two: Life? (and science?) ›

Reply to comment

kgould's picture

so... what about the viruses?

Submitted by kgould on Thu, 09/13/2007 - 7:37pm.

So the whole time that we were discussing "what is life?" in class, my mind kept turning to one topic: viruses.

Because no one can really decide whether or not those little particles are considered "alive." Yeah, they have genetic material (improbable assembly?), yeah, they reproduce (only in a host cell, but reproduce none-the-less), and, to a limited degree, they respond to changes in the environment when inside an infected cell.

But viruses have no cellular composition and they can't metabolise on their own.

If viruses were considered "alive," would that change everyone's view of life? Would other seemingly "non-living" particles, like prions, also be considered candidates for "life?"

I'm just curious about other people's opinions and ideas. Does anyone lean one way or the other?

Reply

To prevent automated spam submissions leave this field empty.
5 + 13 =
Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. E.g. for 1+3, enter 4.

Remote Ready Biology Learning Activities

Scanning electron microscope image of SARS-CoV-2

Remote Ready Biology Learning Activities has 50 remote-ready activities, which work for either your classroom or remote teaching.

Narrative is determined not by a desire to narrate but by a desire to exchange. (Roland Barthes, S/Z)

What's New? Subscribe to Serendip Studio