By: Jacob S.
Viruses today are making an enormous difference in our world. COVID-19 has changed my life and probably several others as well. The purpose of this article is to inform young people like myself and many others about the data and research that goes into proving a common question that has been pondering many people; Should viruses be considered living or non-living?
Viruses should not be considered living. The article, Scientific American by Luis P. Villarreal gives many pieces of evidence that support viruses are not living. One example from the article claims that viruses do not grow, consume energy, respond to the environment, or cannot live or reproduce without a host cell. Without any of those characteristics, viruses are considered non-living.
Another example from the article, Scientific American by Luis P. Villarreal states, “They also look on viruses as coming from host genes that somehow escaped the host and acquired a protein coat. In this view, viruses are fugitive host genes that have degenerated into parasites. And with viruses thus dismissed from the web of life, important contributions they may have made to the origin of species and the maintenance of life may go unrecognized.”
In addition, for a virus to be alive, it must grow and develop, like all other living things. Researchers say that viruses also must acquire food to fuel the cell. Some organisms, like animals, eat other living things for energy, and viruses have no need for food. All other living organisms have their own way of making energy. In order for a virus to be living, they have to obtain and use energy.
“Living organisms also are thought to require a degree of biochemical autonomy, carrying on the metabolic activities that produce the molecules and energy needed to sustain the organism. This level of autonomy is essential to most definitions,” the article stated. A virus must respond to the environment to be considered living. Furthermore, viruses need a host cell to live.
Luis P. Villarreal writes, “That is, they depend on the host cell for the raw materials and energy necessary for nucleic acid synthesis, protein synthesis, processing and transport, and all other biochemical activities that allow the virus to multiply and spread. One might then conclude that even though these processes come under viral direction, viruses are simply nonliving parasites of living metabolic systems. But a spectrum may exist between what is certainly alive and what is not.” This shows that without a host cell, a virus can’t live or reproduce.
For a virus to be classified alive, it must grow, obtain and use energy, respond to the environment, and reproduce. Therefore, the evidence from the article shows that viruses should not be considered living. In conclusion, viruses should be considered non-living, but there could still be a spectrum between what is living or not.
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