Organise a discussion in your class on the topic- Are viruses living or non-living?

Explanation

Arrange the discussion with the help of your teacher and keep in mind following characters Viruses are enigmatic biological entities. They possess characters of non-living but show some properties of living.
1. Inanimate (non-living) characters
1. Viruses show property of crystallization. TMV and many other plant, animal and bacterial viruses have been crystallized. Viruses show sedimentation properties.
3. They can be separated into their components by treating with detergents. They do not show their own activity but are dependent upon living cells for their own existence.
5. They lack energy producing enzyme systems like respiration Viruses lack cellular organization
7. They have only one type of nucleic acid (DNA or RNA), while living organisms possess both.
8. Viruses lack growth and cell division for their multiplication,
Animate (living) properties
1. They show the capacity to multiply in number within the living cells of the organisms.
2. Viruses show host specific intracellular parasitism, the property associated with living organisms only.
3. They can undergo mutations to give rise to new variants.
4. They are infectious and can be transmitted from one host to another 2/36
5. They are sensitive to temperature, chemicals and radiations. They possess antigenic properties. Viruses have the capacity to bring about enzymatic changes in vitro.
So, on the basis of their inanimate characters, the viruses cannot be considered as organisms. They are acellular or non-cellular, but again it is difficult to ignore their living properties and cannot be considered as inert chemicals. For this reason, Lwoff, a French scientist, said, "A virus is a virus". It is neither an organism nor a non-living inert chemical.