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Determine whether or not viruses are actually living organisms.
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Rachel Davis S. Floyd English 103 Essay 1 11 May 2004 Essay I It is quite difficult to determine whether or not viruses are actually living organisms. They do not complete many of the same tasks that living organisms do, and yet it seems that they are much more than complex chemicals. Scientists still do not know much about the origin of viruses and do not yet fully understand how viruses are related to each other, or to other organisms. Currently, the scientific opinion is: viruses are not living organisms. Viruses are considered non-living because they do not use energy to grow or to respond to their surroundings, they are obligatory intracellular parasites, and most importantly they do not satisfy all the characteristics of living organisms. Viruses were originally distinguished from other infectious agents because they are especially small and filterable - a characteristic which many bacteria are unable to claim. Unlike these bacteria however,...
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