Poll: Viruses...

[Gladion]

Well, if they had no hosts, they'd die pretty quickly so... I'd go for no. Although it is a hard question, can possibly never be answered 100%.

 

[Fingerprint]

It depends. Some argue that the virus without a host is not "alive" but then it becomes "alive" when it attaches itself to a host body. Whereas others may say that it is always alive.

Frankly, asking if it's "alive" is just too vague; being alive has so many various definitions that saying for sure whether something (like a virus) is alive, or isn't, or is alive but only sometimes is a question that can't necessarily be answered in a straightforward yes or no. That may be wrong now, I'm not sure or at least I haven't heard otherwise, so there may now be an answer, but to the best of my knowledge there isn't.

As for your poll & topic, its the best one I've seen today - don't take this the wrong way but the other threads that I've seen so far today are mediocre at best - so I'm not sure if its a huge compliment, but hey, it's gotta be better than no compliment at all.

 

[messy]

I believe that viruses are, because they are similar to bacteria. I am not sure, but I think they are.

Nothing like bacteria, virus' are smaller enough and several (and by several I mean the most common "species on the planet, I say "species" due to the whole them being death thing) known as bacteriaphages which infect bacteria.

It's gotta be able to infect somehow, how would it manage to do what it's supposed to if it wasn't alive.

Aren't dead viruses used for making vaccinations.. Or is that dead white blood cells?

Dead bacteria are used for vaccinations normally and it's dead or weakened or just the surface proteins used by the body to recognise it , it's normally difficult to vaccinate against virus' because they mutate so rapidly

It's been done plenty of times though, we have a vaccine for Chickenpox for example.

Didn't say impossible. Do you mean small pox, because I swear there's no cure for chickenpox which is why you try to get children to get it so they build up immunity. Small pox was easy to eradicate because there was one strain, visible symptoms, don't spread overly fast and the vaccination could be freeze dried and used in warmer climates.

There is one for smallpox as well, but I promise they have one for chickenpox, my son just got it a week ago. =)

Aren't they not technically alive unless they're in a host? I'm not sure, it's been years since biology.

That seems to be the general consensus of the science community.

One for chicken pox? Well things sure have changed since I was a lad (not that long ago which makes it all the more impressive)

 

[Skeleon]

they are an organism, and have a "brain" or genetic material really, and they are classified as living because they meet the characteristics of a living thing

Well technically they don't meet the criteria because they require another living thing to reproduce. Which means that when not inside one they're technically dead/not living.

Again, you can't use this as a requirement for life, otherwise you'd have to classify some bacteria as non-living, too.

 

[Aznleeman]

I guess it's all on how you classify things as 'alive.' As mentioned before viruses are in two different states, one being technically "dead" and one being technically "alive." Because of these two contrasting parts I'd have to say that it's kindof alive.

 

[messy]

they are an organism, and have a "brain" or genetic material really, and they are classified as living because they meet the characteristics of a living thing

Well technically they don't meet the criteria because they require another living thing to reproduce. Which means that when not inside one they're technically dead/not living.

Again, you can't use this as a requirement for life, otherwise you'd have to classify some bacteria as non-living, too.

Can you please send links/give some examples to this. Only because I've never heard of this and it does make things being alive/dead a lot more interesting especially considering that bacteria are more similar to cells that make up animals, plants etc. then virus particles are

 

[AngelOfBlueRoses]

Have you never taken biology? One of the first biology lessons I learned was that viruses are not technically "alive."

 

[Radu889]

From what I learned from Biology, I think they are synthetic "organisms"(they don't really live)...
I don't know where that came from... Might have been from Physics.

I am at least sure that they do not "live" , they are like air, a random element walking around the world and annoying people.

 

[Destal]

I believe that viruses are, because they are similar to bacteria. I am not sure, but I think they are.

Nothing like bacteria, virus' are smaller enough and several (and by several I mean the most common "species on the planet, I say "species" due to the whole them being death thing) known as bacteriaphages which infect bacteria.

It's gotta be able to infect somehow, how would it manage to do what it's supposed to if it wasn't alive.

Aren't dead viruses used for making vaccinations.. Or is that dead white blood cells?

Dead bacteria are used for vaccinations normally and it's dead or weakened or just the surface proteins used by the body to recognise it , it's normally difficult to vaccinate against virus' because they mutate so rapidly

It's been done plenty of times though, we have a vaccine for Chickenpox for example.

Didn't say impossible. Do you mean small pox, because I swear there's no cure for chickenpox which is why you try to get children to get it so they build up immunity. Small pox was easy to eradicate because there was one strain, visible symptoms, don't spread overly fast and the vaccination could be freeze dried and used in warmer climates.

There is one for smallpox as well, but I promise they have one for chickenpox, my son just got it a week ago. =)

Aren't they not technically alive unless they're in a host? I'm not sure, it's been years since biology.

That seems to be the general consensus of the science community.

One for chicken pox? Well things sure have changed since I was a lad (not that long ago which makes it all the more impressive)

I know, I was kind of surprised myself. I hear they have even figured out the ADS that AIDS functions off of, which means that a vaccine or a cure shouldn't be too many years down the future. If you really want to see something weird you should check out Prions (Mad cow disease).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prion

 

[Skeleon]

*snip*

Sure. The example I posted above were Chlamydia. They require host-cells to reproduce, much like virus. Yet they are bacteria.
This led to a lot of confusion early on. They were actually classified as virus at one time, heh.

This is what I meant with "fluid transition". There's no clear cut between life and non-life because nature created everything inbetween as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlamydia_(bacterium)

Chlamydia are obligate intracellular parasite bacterial pathogens, and are thus unable to replicate outside of a host cell.

They have an inert form (for survival outside of hosts) and a metabolic form when they actually get to do some replicating.
Sounds familiar, doesn't it?
What the proteine hull is to a virus, is the inert form to Chlamydia.
And what the shedded, pure DNA/RNA-core is to a virus, is the metabloic form to Chlamydia.

EDIT:

I am at least sure that they do not "live" , they are like air, a random element walking around the world and annoying people.

It's not that random. Virus actually evolve over time, along with the (other?) living beings on our planet. They develop mechanisms to fool our immune systems, enter cells, survive outside a host...
They're very complex!

 

[The Maddest March Hare]

No they aren't, they are shells made of protein with a simple strand of DNA to give it its 'programming'. They aren't technically alive, they're sort of what comes before life, and without their simple structure we wouldn't have had anything to evolve from (if you believe in that theory of course).

 

[lazy_bum]

It a tough one for sure, they fill some of the prequsites for being alive but not all off them. though i think that anything that can self reproduce like they do must be 'alive' on a basic level. so i have to say they are kind of alive.

 

[DeadlyYellow]

Health and biology have told me no, viruses are not living organisms.

 

[annoyinglizardvoice]

One answer I was given in biology was that they are alive when in contact with other living cells, but not otherwise. I think that's a fairly good way of describing them myself.

 

[Casual Shinji]

There living organisms, they're just not sentient exactly.

From what I've learned there not realy an organic structure.

 

[Scobie]

DELETED

 

[wildpeaks]

I voted before realizing you meant "real" viruses, not computer ones.

/needs to get out more

 

[Kriptonite]

Viruses have stumped the scientific community for years. Viruses go dormant when not in use and when they are, they take over a host and cause it to produce more viruses instead of its normal function. So essentially, they are both. When no host is available, it's alright. Scary.

 

[iblis666]

id say no viruses are just screwed up dna/rna sometimes wrapped up in a bit of protein packaging