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sfurbo t1_jboxrx0 wrote

Reply to comment by Awwkaw in I just learned that the known shortest DNA in an “organism” is about 1700 base pairs in a certain virus. Is there a minimum amount of “code” required for an organism (or virus) to function in any capacity? by mcbergstedt

Viruses require very specific environments to reproduce (the inside of the right kind of cell), but so does humans. Put humans in 2000 degrees, and they won't reproduce. Put them in the vacuum of space, and they won't reproduce. Without food, humans won't reproduce. Without water, humans won't reproduce. How is that fundamentally different from viruses?

A much more convincing argument for viruses not being alive is that they don't have a metabolism.

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Awwkaw t1_jbp08d0 wrote

In those conditions humans are dead, so they do not fulfill the definition of life.

A virus has no ability to reproduce, and as such it is not life.

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sfurbo t1_jbq50cl wrote

The virus can reproduce, it just requires a very specific environment to do so, including specific molecules that are only produced by other life, such as ribosomes.

Humans require very specific environments to survive, including a long list of chemicals that are only produced by other life, such as vitamins.

The requirements for the virus are a lot more specific, but there is nothing fundamentally different in them.

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Awwkaw t1_jbq6bqd wrote

No, the virus cannot reproduce.

It simply does not have the parts to reproduce. Only instructions on how to produce it. A virus is even worse at reproducing than Ikea chairs:, the chairs bring both the parts and the manual, the virus only comes with the manual. The extremely specific conditions you mention do not allow the virus to reproduce, it allows the host cell to produce the virus.

You might not like the definition of the word, but it is what it is.

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Solesaver t1_jbp0b4x wrote

A chair requires a very specific environment to reproduce. Inside a carpentry shop with a human carpenter capable of measuring, cutting, and machining new parts to assemble, or otherwise a factory designed to create more chairs. /s

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