re: #123 Charles Johnson

Wow, that might be the flat out stupidest thing Chuck has posted yet.

I think he is a bit confused by all the “sciency jargon,” while viruses don’t technically meet the definition of “life” they certainly are not dead either.

“Viruses straddle the definition of life. They lie somewhere between supra molecular complexes and very simple biological entities. Viruses contain some of the structures and exhibit some of the activities that are common to organic life, but they are missing many of the others. In general, viruses are entirely composed of a single strand of genetic information encased within a protein capsule. Viruses lack most of the internal structure and machinery which characterize ‘life’, including the biosynthetic machinery that is necessary for reproduction. In order for a virus to replicate it must infect a suitable host cell”.