Viruses are not considered to be living organisms for the following reasons: they are not composed of cells, they can’t metabolize to make their own energy, and they cannot replicate independently. One of the factors that make living organisms such as humans, animals, and bacteria alive is the fact that they are composed of at least one cell. Whereas viruses only contain a protein coat called the capsid and posses zero organelles. Also, viruses cannot metabolize or make energy on their so as a result, they can only receive energy from another cell, their host. Lastly, viruses cannot replicate and reproduce alone. There are two modes of viral replication called the lytic cycle and the lysogenic cycle. Both require a cell host for the virus to spread. …show more content…
It order to do this, it first needs to enter the cell either by injecting its genetic material directly into the cell, or by the virus and the envelope fusing together allowing the virus to enter through a process called endocytotis. Once the virus has entered or infused its DNA or RNA into the cell host, it will transcribe itself into the cell’s messenger RNA in order to use them to control the ribosomes. As a result, the host’s genetic material is destroyed which allows the virus to take over the metabolic and replication activities. The virus will use the cells energy to grow and replicate, making the cell overcrowded. Then once the cell is too overcrowded, the original virus releases enzymes to break down the cell wall and the new viruses are released to now enter and destroy new