Viruses are small infectious agents that can only replicate inside the living cells of other organisms, such as plants, animals, and bacteria. They are not considered to be alive because they cannot reproduce on their own or carry out metabolic processes. Instead, viruses hijack the cellular machinery of their hosts to produce more copies of themselves, which can then go on to infect other cells or organisms. The structure of a virus typically consists of a protein coat called a capsid, which...

Viruses are small infectious agents that can only replicate inside the living cells of other organisms, such as plants, animals, and bacteria. They are not considered to be alive because they cannot reproduce on their own or carry out metabolic processes. Instead, viruses hijack the cellular machinery of their hosts to produce more copies of themselves, which can then go on to infect other cells or organisms. The structure of a virus typically consists of a protein coat called a capsid, which...