Viruses are not microorganisms, and it is erroneous to have this plainly written out like so. Life is defined by seven characteristics something must have in order to be considered alive. Viruses don't metabolize, are not composed of cells, nor do they maintain homeostasis. It would be much better to describe them as a "pathogenic chemical substance that relies either on DNA or RNA for reproduction inside a host cell," except in a simplified manner, since this is an "introduction to viruses."
TheUnixGeek (talk) 09:35, 16 December 2008 (UTC)Reply