Question

Compare and contrast the traits of viruses and bacteria. Why do most scientists argue that a virus is not considered a living thing? Explain your answer in 3–5 sentences.

Answer 1

Bacteria are single-celled, cellular organisms with a membrane, cytoplasm, their own metabolism and DNA, and they reproduce independently (usually by binary fission), while viruses are much smaller, acellular particles made of nucleic acid encased in a protein coat that must infect a host cell to replicate. Bacteria can grow, respond to the environment, and are often killed or inhibited by antibiotics; viruses are inert outside a host and are affected by antivirals or prevented by vaccines. Most scientists do not consider viruses living because they lack cellular structure, have no independent metabolism, and cannot reproduce or carry out life processes without hijacking a host cell. Outside a host they exist as inactive particles rather than living organisms.