ANATOMY

Detailed explanation-1: -A virus is not a living organism and can only grow and reproduce in the cells of a host. Bacteria, by contrast, are single-celled organisms that produce their own energy and can reproduce on their own. While both can cause disease, bacteria also serve other vital and healthful roles in nature.

Detailed explanation-2: -A virus is a tiny, infectious particle that can reproduce only by infecting a host cell. Viruses “commandeer” the host cell and use its resources to make more viruses, basically reprogramming it to become a virus factory. Because they can’t reproduce by themselves (without a host), viruses are not considered living.

Detailed explanation-3: -First seen as poisons, then as life-forms, then biological chemicals, viruses today are thought of as being in a gray area between living and nonliving: they cannot replicate on their own but can do so in truly living cells and can also affect the behavior of their hosts profoundly.

Detailed explanation-4: -Living things reproduce. Viruses must use host cells to create more virions.