EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -They use energy and nutrients to become larger in size or more complex. Viruses manipulate host cells into building new viruses which means each virion is created in its fully-formed state, and will neither increase in size nor in complexity throughout its existence. Viruses do not grow.

Detailed explanation-2: -Viruses are microscopic, acellular organisms that are not considered living or not living. In the surrounding environment, the viruses are considered dead as they do not possess any characteristics of a cell.

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: -Viruses are complicated assemblies of molecules, including proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, and carbohydrates, but on their own they can do nothing until they enter a living cell. Without cells, viruses would not be able to multiply. Therefore, viruses are not living things.

Detailed explanation-5: -Some years after their discovery, scientists first raised the idea that viruses were living – albeit simple – organisms because they caused diseases like bacteria, which we know to be alive. However, viruses lack the hallmarks of other living things.