Are viruses living?
I believe that viruses are not living. This opinionated conclusion spurred from 2 commonly followed notions. Although viruses do fit in some of the categories of the living, they do not fit all 8 from which we concur if something truly is or isn't living. These classifications of life are vital, and the fact that viruses do not conform to all 8 simple standards, leads me to believe that they cannot be living. The 2nd commonly followed notion comes from an experiment by a man named Miller. Miller left a virus out overnight, and in the morning due to evaporation, the virus had crystallized into a salt. When he re-hydrated the virus and poured it over healthy leaves, those leaves became diseased. It was this that led him to conclude that viruses are not living things but chemicals; due to the fact that no living thing can live can survive function after being deprived from water.
I believe that viruses are not living. This opinionated conclusion spurred from 2 commonly followed notions. Although viruses do fit in some of the categories of the living, they do not fit all 8 from which we concur if something truly is or isn't living. These classifications of life are vital, and the fact that viruses do not conform to all 8 simple standards, leads me to believe that they cannot be living. The 2nd commonly followed notion comes from an experiment by a man named Miller. Miller left a virus out overnight, and in the morning due to evaporation, the virus had crystallized into a salt. When he re-hydrated the virus and poured it over healthy leaves, those leaves became diseased. It was this that led him to conclude that viruses are not living things but chemicals; due to the fact that no living thing can live can survive function after being deprived from water.