Biology / Unit 9 Bio 1919 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Whether a Virus Is Alive, Revisited
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The idea
Whether a virus is alive is genuinely open: a virion has no metabolism of its own, yet its genome evolves.
In practice
One side denies life per Bio 1917; the other grants it, since a virus evolves and adapts inside a host.
Where people slip
Both sides accept the same facts about a virion — they differ only in which facts should count as defining life.
Your place on the trail
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Unlocks
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