A virus has a very simple composition. It has a protein sheath inside
which there is a strand of DNA. A virus shows some properties akin to
living organisms. However, unlike other organisms, they show some
properties that are akin to non-living things. They can undergo
crystallization and in that form, survive for billions of years. They
can survive very high temperatures, freezing cold and ultra-violet
radiation in space vacuum, in crystallized form.
Viruses
are non-living microscopic particles that
attack healthy cells within living things. They do not have the characteristics
of living things and are not able to metabolize food. To metabolize
means to change food energy into chemical energy that the body can
use. Viruses are not alive, so they do not have a need for food like
living oganisms. Viruses do not have an organized cell structure.
They are so light that they can float in the air or water, be passed
on to other organisims if touched, and fit anywhere. The virus injects
its own DNA structure into healthy cells where new virus cells grow.
Viruses do have all of the characteristics of living things. They
consist of a protein coat which contains either DNA or RNA. They are
not made of cells. They have no cellular structures. They do not
require nutrients. They do not have metabolism. They do not grow or
develop. They do not reproduce on their own. They must high-jack a
living cell, inject it's genetic material, which then takes over the
host cell which then becomes a virus factory. Eventually the cell
becomes so full of replicated viruses that they burst, releasing the
viruses so they can go on to attack other cells.
