why are viruses considered to be on the border line between living and non living things?

Virus is considered a borderline between living and non living because it has features similar to both. Outside a living body a virus can be crystallized and appears to be non living as it cannot carry any meatbolic activities. But once it enters a suitable host it activates its genetic material and is able to carry out all the activities using the cellular machinery of the host cell. 

  • 45

virus are considered to be at the borderline of living and non living organism as they can survive in both of them.  when they uses the energy of the host cell for growing and reproducing they are inside a living cell but when they are outside the living cell they do not grow or reproduce as there they behave like non living organism and they do not have their own energy mechanism to do their own life process.

  • 9

Virus is considered  to be on the borderline between living and non living because they do not grow out side the living cell but ones they enter the body of living beings they grow and reproduct very fast. Since they and reproduct this indicates virus are living organisms and exist on the borderline between living and non living being.

  • 23

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. hope it works

  • -6

Hi,

Virus is a living entity. It can survive only if it has favorable conditions. Otherwise it goes in a dormant state.

  • -3
What are you looking for?