Jazmean's Virus Argumentation

If we follow the standards set by scientists that constitute organisms as living, we cannot classify viruses as living things. Scientists use seven standards to determine if an entity is living: are they made up of cells, do they have levels of organization, can they obtain and use energy, do they grow and develop, can they reproduce, do they respond to their environment, and can they adapt to their environment. If an organism does not meet all of the seven qualifications, they are considered to be nonliving. Viruses only meet two of the seven qualifications: they can reproduce and they can adapt to their environment. And even though they meet these two qualifications, they cannot reproduce nor adapt to their environment without a host cell. This means that viruses are not independently efficient unlike other organisms such as Amoebas and Algae because a majority of their survival depends on their host cell.  Most scientists consider viruses outside of their host cell to be dormant and not functional.

Viruses do not conduct chemical or metabolic processes within them. They are not able to produce energy like plants and they are not able to use molecules like glucose to undergo cellular respiration like animal cells. They have no organelles that can help them do that. They only possess genetic information that is used to produce more viruses. They are not able to use their genetic information by themselves. Viruses have to employ the use of a host cell in order for the genetic information to be put to use. They also do not have the ability to respond to external stimuli when outside of their host cell.

 Because viruses are not able to meet all of the qualifications of what makes a living thing living, they are not able to be classified as living things.