Biology Forum Microbiology microbiology

3 voices
3 replies
  • Author
    Posts
    • #6083
      monny
      Participant

      Are bacteriophages-living or nonliving entities?can anyone answer this question?

    • #57202
      Amrik
      Participant

      bacteriophages are virus….the are not classified as living or non-living…well because..when they dont have a host (in this case Bacteria) they cannot reproduce which means they are non-living but when they are in a host (bacteria) they can reproduce and they do it at a very fast pace, in this case they are living….so you decide are they living or non-living?

    • #57204
      monny
      Participant

      well,Ive got a assignment on this question.how should i explain myself?characterestics of living things:-can reproduce,grow and develop,utilise energy,homeostasis,respond to environment and should be evolutionary adaptive.An organism is living when it fulfills all these features.Now,what do u think?

    • #57212
      Poison
      Participant

      I advise you to search the forum. You can find discussions about virus’ being living or non-living.
      A small hint for you. An organism can reproduce. Viruses can not do that themselves. They make their host do that.

You must be logged in to reply to this topic.