Are viruses living things?

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asked Aug 4, 2020 in Science by gentlemandue3 (310 points)
Are viruses living things?

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answered Aug 5, 2020 by Shawn (99,990 points)
Viruses are not considered by scientists and medical professionals to be living things.

Although our body kills off and fights off the viruses and disinfectants kills the viruses on surfaces so in a way the viruses would be living things.

However the viruses are not living things like humans, dogs and other animals are but instead the viruses are made up of protein.

Viruses cannot do anything or multiply unless they get into and reside inside a living body such as a human or other animal.

Without the human body or other living thing the viruses cannot doing anything since viruses are made of complicated assemblies of molecules, including proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, and carbohydrates, but on their own they can do nothing until they enter a living body.

The viruses will not be able to reproduce without a host.

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