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coolidfors t1_irn7oim wrote

Reply to comment by Agood10 in What lifeform has the shortest genetic sequence? by teafuck

Is it wrong to consider virus something between living and non-living? Something like a stepping stone?

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Agood10 t1_irn8ytp wrote

I think it’s all a matter of opinion, where to draw the line on what is and isn’t considered life. But yes, I can see how one could consider them somewhere between alive and not. They meet many of the criteria we’ve somewhat arbitrarily defined for living things but miss others, such as having the ability to produce their own energy for survival and replication.

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