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| 29 Dec 2015 07:50 PM |
"Living things are made of cells. Living things obtain and use energy. Living things grow and develop. Living things reproduce. Living things respond to their environment. Living things adapt to their environment."
So why aren't viruses considered to be living? |
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| 29 Dec 2015 07:51 PM |
Viruses can't reproduce independently like bacteria or other living things. They depend on injecting their DNA into the cells of a host. Therefore, viruses aren't living creatures because they depend on other creatures (That aren't viruses) for reproduction.
Noot-Noot |
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LucaChaos
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| Joined: 05 Jul 2013 |
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| 29 Dec 2015 08:02 PM |
Viruses can't reproduce independently like bacteria or other living things. They depend on injecting their DNA into the cells of a host. Therefore, viruses aren't living creatures because they depend on other creatures (That aren't viruses) for reproduction.
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| 29 Dec 2015 08:03 PM |
Viruses are not classified as being alive because they don’t have their own machinery for reproducing. They can only take over the machinery of cells, turning them into virus factories. But not everyone agrees with this system. Someone might say, “Hey, parasites need to reproduce inside other organisms, but they’re alive.” That would be a reasonable argument for saying that viruses are a form of life. I tell my students that people like to make nice neat categories, but the natural world almost never fits into them. Putting things into categories can be helpful, but we have to remember that the categories are usually artificial and should not get in the way of understanding all of the amazing diversity of the world.
Viruses are not considered "alive" because they lack many of the properties that scientists associate with living organisms. Primarily, they lack the ability to reproduce without the aid of a host cell, and don't use the typical cell- division approach to replication. Essentially, however, this is just how scientists have defined the word. If viruses were classified as living, other types of self-replicating genes, proteins, and molecules would make the list as well.
Viruses lack the cellular machinery to be able to reproduce themselves; without using the genetic code of a cell as their host, the genetic information contained within a virus is meaningless. An analogy I could make is that viruses are basically software, and software requires hardware (in this case, a cell) to run on. For this reason, most definitions of life do not identify viruses as living organisms, because they aren't actually *organisms*.
...Der chu go?
Don't knock on Death's door. Ring the doorbell and run, he hates that! |
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| 29 Dec 2015 08:04 PM |
@ln: Haha, very funny. Repeating the inaccurate filth posted by the furry filth. If you don't mind, I'd like an actual answer. |
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Roadworx
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| Joined: 05 Nov 2008 |
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| 29 Dec 2015 08:05 PM |
"When furries try to act smart but have no idea what their talking about."
ok what the hell, what he said was factual. there's no need to be a jerk. |
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| 29 Dec 2015 08:08 PM |
| @Road: I refuse to believe that what she said was accurate. People like her are ruining OT and have no right to be here. |
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| 29 Dec 2015 08:08 PM |
...DID I DO IT?!
Don't knock on Death's door. Ring the doorbell and run, he hates that! |
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| 29 Dec 2015 08:09 PM |
@Spik: Right now I'd take your answer. (Its very long but it beats anything the furry could've posted) |
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Roadworx
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| Joined: 05 Nov 2008 |
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| 29 Dec 2015 08:11 PM |
alrighty then here's why viruses aren't considered living.
1.) they cannot perform metabolic functions 2.) they cannot reproduce by themselves, they need to inject their DNA into something 3.) they cannot grow 4.) they cannot maintain homeostasis |
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elkrai
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| Joined: 04 May 2008 |
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| 29 Dec 2015 08:20 PM |
"posting in a troll thread" Can't you people just answer with an actual answer? |
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Roadworx
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| 29 Dec 2015 08:23 PM |
@Road: Thanks. its about time. |
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| 29 Dec 2015 10:32 PM |
| Atleast road can help. Unlike SOME degenerates. |
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| 29 Dec 2015 10:34 PM |
you hate furries that much
damn, now that's dedication
Emos are idiots |
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| 29 Dec 2015 10:37 PM |
| @Cactus: Well they deserve it. |
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Aveeo
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| Joined: 28 Apr 2012 |
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| 29 Dec 2015 10:40 PM |
Why don't you do your own homework and stop relying on OT for answers?
Respect the science! |
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| 29 Dec 2015 10:42 PM |
@aveo: I was doing my homework. I got confused and tried asking Ot but a certain immature mongrel had to make it difficult. |
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| 29 Dec 2015 10:42 PM |
| They're sacks of proteins, they don't go through life processes. That stuff. |
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Aveeo
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| Joined: 28 Apr 2012 |
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| 29 Dec 2015 10:44 PM |
"I was doing my homework. I got confused and tried asking Ot but a certain immature mongrel had to make it difficult."
Oh, you mean yourself? I'm sure if you consult your textbooks you will be able to deal with it. After all, a brain is a terrible thing to waste.
Respect the science! |
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| 29 Dec 2015 10:45 PM |
| @aveoo: Our textbooks stay in the classroom though |
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