BIOL 100 Carter

Why or why not?

Are Visruses Living Things?

LIFE

• Life is a field of science, such as biology, that studies living things.
• Properties life consists of:
• Change and growth
• Have a complex history
• Maintains homeostasis
• Always consist of more than one cell
• They can produce offspring

Viruses have no plasma membrane, internall organelles, or metabolic processes, and they do not divide. (Khan)

Viruses do not maintain a high level of organization.

Viruses cannot maintain homeostasis.

Why are virusis considered non-living?

Viruses are not made out of cells.

-Small viruses start as runaway pieces of nucliec acid that originally came from living cells such as bacteria.(Khan)

-Viruses can contain both RNA & DNA genetic material.

-Viruses require a host cell to reproduce.

-Viruses are acellular entities that can usually only be seen with an electron microscope.

What is a virus?

Viruses are not Living

Viruses are not a cell, they have no nucleus, and have to have a host cell to reproduce. Cells provide structure for all living things. They are considered the smallest form of life. Therefore, if viruses are not a cell and do not have one, they can not be living.

Prokaryote have a simple cell type, they have no nucleus, their DNA is circular, reproduction is asexual (binary fission), and their metabolism is varied. (StudySmart)

vs

Structure of a Prokaryote

Viruses are not a cell and have no nucleus. Their DNA, RNA, is single or double, and linear or circular. Viruses use host cells to reproduce and have no metabolism.

Structure of a Virus

vIRUSES VS PROKARYOTE

Since viruses are intracellular parasites, they rely on their host cells for the energy, macromolecular synthesis machinery and the work benches for genome replication and particle assembly.

CELL vs virus ENERGY

Viruses are not living and do not create their own metabolism. Viruses steal energy from the cells that they infect. They cannot create their own energy with no metabolism and without exsisting viruses.

A cells metabolism refers to the combination of chemical reactions that take place within it.

Viruses do not grow or reproduce without a host cell. Host cells are the cells in which another organism lives or feeds at. Viruses are not living and would not exsist if it was not for cells viruses would not be able to reproduce or metabolize.

Virus Reproduction

Cells reproduce through meiosis or mitosis, while viruses reproduce through their host cell. Through the host cell the protiens and enzymes from the virus have the opportunity to replicate the viral DNA.

*If a virus was a living thing it would have a genetic code. All living things have a genetic code.

vs

Cells follow a genetic code and have certain mechanisms that proofread the genome and alter mechanisms to repair a sequence if an error in the mutation is detected.

Cell Mutation

Mutations of a virus are much faster than of a cell, because viruses do not have a genetic code that the mutation has to go through. Viruses do not have a definite DNA code and can interchange or delete certain DNA codes, making viruses easier to mutate.

Virus Mutations

Cell vs virus mutation

Viruses themselves do help the body create a natural immunity, because once the body has had a virus it can adjust and fight off future infections. Vaccinnes are an artificial immunity and not a natural immunity.

Vaccines can help protect against certain viruses or diseases by imitating infections. The imitation of the infection through the vaccine help your immune system adjust and fight off a future infection.

Antibodies are protiens that we produce in response to infections. Antibodies create a defense for cells when they are fighting off viruses and infections.

Natural immunity

vs

Ribonucleic acid (RNA) carries certain instructions for making protiens. When the DNA no longer needs anymore protiens, mRNA send instructions are to be destroyed. (UMASS)

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) contains our genetic codes. DNA is a long, double -stranded molecule located in the nucleus. The three letters in DNA specifically code for the genes the bases have. (UMASS)

RNA VS dna

Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. (2023, February 10). How do different types of covid-19 vaccines work? Mayo Clinic. Retrieved May 7, 2023, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/in-depth/different-types-of-covid-19-vaccines/art-20506465

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022, May 23). Understanding how vaccines work. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved May 7, 2023, from https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/conversations/understanding-vacc-work.html

Challenge 4: How do mutations cause viral evolution? Ed. (n.d.). Retrieved May 7, 2023, from https://medicine.yale.edu/coved/modules/virus/evolution/#:~:text=Mutations%20involve%20changes%20to%20the,rapidly%20than%20human%20cells%20do.

Libretexts. (2021, March 6). 4: How cells obtain energy. Biology LibreTexts. Retrieved May 7, 2023, from https://bio.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Introductory_and_General_Biology/Book%3A_Concepts_in_Biology_(OpenStax)/04%3A_How_Cells_Obtain_Energy

Prokaryotes and viruses. StudySmarter US. (n.d.). Retrieved May 7, 2023, from https://www.studysmarter.us/explanations/biology/cells/prokaryotes-and-viruses/

Google. (n.d.). Google search. Retrieved May 7, 2023, from https://www.google.com/search?q=picture%2Bof%2Ba%2Bvirus&rlz=1C1EJFC_enUS895US895&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiAsvCy4J3-AhX6ADQIHf5ODUwQ0pQJegQIBhAC&biw=1920&bih=961&dpr=1#imgrc=0cyu0hud41OG0M 

1.Khan Academy. (n.d.). Are viruses dead or alive? (article). Khan Academy. Retrieved May 7, 2023, from https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/mcat/cells/viruses/a/are-viruses-dead-or-alive

Citations

Whitcomb, I. (2020, August 9). Why do we develop lifelong immunity to some diseases, but not others? LiveScience. Retrieved May 7, 2023, from https://www.livescience.com/why-lifelong-immunity.html

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Studying cells. National Institute of General Medical Sciences. Retrieved May 7, 2023, from https://nigms.nih.gov/education/fact-sheets/Pages/studying-cells.aspx#:~:text=Cells%20provide%20structure%20and%20function,the%20smallest%20form%20of%20life.

What is RNA? UMass Chan Medical School. (2022, January 7). Retrieved May 7, 2023, from https://www.umassmed.edu/rti/biology/what-is-rna/

CITATIONS