LogFAQs > #894324327

Viruses are just copy/paste in chemistry format. It's a strand of DNA or RNA that encodes the "blueprint" to make more copies of itself (which will just beget more copies of themselves).

They are made up of the same "building blocks" of living organisms, that's why our cells when infected with a virus just see the RNA and transcribe/translate the sequence as if it was your own body that produced the RNA. But instead of being the RNA to some necessary component the cell needs like a hormone or protein, it's literally just a copy of the sequence that encodes a copy of itself. So the cell creates tons of copies of the virion, then they burst out and infect other cells. It's a self-propagating "glitch" until the immune system gets rid of the process.

Viruses don't have metabolisms. It's literally just the RNA or DNA covered in a protein capsule. So while some of their "behavior" seems to mimic what life is about, it's kind of an "empty shell" of a particular quirk of life. It just so happens that this process can interfere with healthy functioning of cells.
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"He has two neurons held together by a spirochete."