your thoughts pl0x.

uhhmm? neither. viruses are non-cellular, non-living, infectious agents. they aren't even organisms.

...neither. The real virus debate is whether or not they're living at all.

If you had to argue for one of those, it would be prokaryote. But like others have said, they're not even living organisms.

changed title. o_o

Answer is no. They can't reproduce on their own.

By itself, a virus is a lifeless particle that cannot reproduce. But inside a living cell, a virus becomes an active organism that can multiply hundreds of times

Well I don't think the answer to this question is as rigid. A virus definitely treads the line between living and non-living.

- Do not have a real cell structure (which is what makes them NOT prokaryotes or eukaryotes)
- BUT they have their own genetic material
- However, they cannot reproduce without a host
- BUT they also mutate, following laws of natural selection

..among other things.

But I've always thought of them as not living things, because I consider cells to be the building blocks of life. And since viruses do not have enough structures to be considered cells, not even a nucleus but just some floating genetic material, they're not living. Also they can't even reproduce without a host. It's just kind of sad and not alive.

Same with Bacteria, but they're almost universally considered living.

Yeah bacteria are iffy too (there are some bacteria that cannot reproduce without a host either), but definitely not as much as viruses.