Viruses are generally not considered living things because they lack key characteristics of life such as independent metabolism and the ability to reproduce on their own. They must infect a host cell to replicate, relying entirely on the host’s cellular machinery. Key reasons why viruses are not considered living:
- They cannot carry out metabolic processes independently.
- They do not grow or respond to their environment on their own.
- They require a host to reproduce.
- Outside a host, they exist as inert particles.
However, viruses contain genetic material (DNA or RNA) and evolve over time, which are traits of living organisms, creating some debate. Still, the consensus in biology is that viruses are complex biological entities but not fully living organisms. In summary, a virus should be considered a biological entity but not a living thing because it cannot perform essential life processes independently.
