this post was submitted on 01 Jun 2024
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Science Memes

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[–] herrcaptain@lemmy.ca 0 points 11 months ago (4 children)

Okay, this got me curious. From the wikipedia article on viruses:

Viruses are considered by some biologists to be a life form, because they carry genetic material, reproduce, and evolve through natural selection, although they lack the key characteristics, such as cell structure, that are generally considered necessary criteria for defining life. Because they possess some but not all such qualities, viruses have been described as "organisms at the edge of life" and as replicators.

[–] Drewelite@lemmynsfw.com 0 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Worth mentioning: life is a construct created by humans. We decide if it's alive, just like we decided if anything else was alive. There's no definite answer that science can provide on this topic. It can only provide humanity with more facts with which we can contrive a distinction.

[–] Dkarma@lemmy.world 0 points 11 months ago

We've given life a set of repeatable rules that create a definition. Viruses don't meet the rules.

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