BIOMOLECULES AND ENZYMES

Detailed explanation-1: -Viruses themselves are metabolically inert and must rely on metabolic events in the cell to generate its component parts and to replicate new viral copies. Oftentimes, the cell at the time of infection is in a quiescent state, but the infection acts to change the cell’s metabolic activity.

Detailed explanation-2: -Next, all living things have metabolism. Viruses are too small and simple to collect or use their own energy – they just steal it from the cells they infect. Viruses only need energy when they make copies of themselves, and they don’t need any energy at all when they are outside of a cell.

Detailed explanation-3: -Viruses can’t metabolize (break down) food to release energy (carry out respiration) or grow. The only thing that viruses can do is replicate (copy themselves), but to do that they need the help of a living cell.

Detailed explanation-4: -Advertisement. However, viruses lack the hallmarks of other living things. They don’t carry out metabolic processes, such as making the energy molecule of life, ATP, and they don’t have cells and therefore the cellular machinery needed to make proteins by themselves.