Question

What are the non-living properties of viruses?

Answer 1

Viruses:

1. The first evidence of viruses' biological nature came from research by Russian scientist Dmitry Ivanovsky in 1892 and Dutch scientist Martinus W. Beijerinck in 1898.
2. Viruses are infectious agents that can be both living and nonliving. Animals, plants, and other microbes can all be infected by viruses.
3. Bacteriophages are viruses that solely infect bacteria.
4. Mycophage viruses are viruses that infect fungus.
5. Virophages are a type of virus that attacks other viruses.
6. Viruses have the following non-living characteristics:
   1. They don't have cytoplasm or cellular organelles, and they're not cells.
   2. Within the infected host cell, new viruses are produced and assembled.
   3. The viruses are inactive outside of the host. They can be isolated, crystallised, and stored as a result. This indicates that they are only substances that exist outside of the host cell.
   4. They are unable to reproduce or develop outside of the host cell.
   5. Antibiotics have no effect on viruses.
   6. Viruses, unlike organisms, may bypass bacterial filters.