Are Viruses Considered Living

436 Words2 Pages
A virus is a microscopic organism that can replicate only inside the cells of a host organism. Viruses are responsible for many of the simple and deadly diseases around the world. Biologists have been classifying organisms for a long time now however, there has been much debate over whether or not viruses should be classified as living or non-living. My viewpoint regarding viruses is that it should not be considered living. For something to be considered living it must meet the seven characteristics of life. Viruses can’t be considered living because it doesn’t meet a very important aspect of life. It is not made up of cells which is the basic unit of life, instead, viruses are made up of a core of genetic material, either DNA or RNA, surrounded