Are Infectious Viruses Actually Alive?

What is the truth about viruses? They evolve, grow, and can be killed by our immune system, but are they actually alive? Learn all about these ferocious little things in this new episode of SciShow, hosted by Michael Aranda! SciShow is supported by Brilliant.org. Go to https://Brilliant.org/SciShow to get 20% off of an annual Premium subscription. SciShow has a spinoff podcast! It's called SciShow Tangents. Check it out at http://www.scishowtangents.org ---------- Support SciShow by becoming a patron on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/scishow ---------- Huge thanks go to the following Patreon supporters for helping us keep SciShow free for everyone forever: Silas Emrys, Drew Hart, Jeffrey Mckishen, James Knight, Christoph Schwanke, Jacob, Matt Curls, Christopher R Boucher, Eric Jensen, Adam Brainard, Nazara, Growing Violet, Ash, Laura Sanborn, Sam Lutfi, Piya Shedden, Katie Marie Magnone, Scott Satovsky Jr, charles george, Alex Hackman, Chris Peters, Kevin Bealer, Alisa Sherbow ---------- Looking for SciShow elsewhere on the internet? Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/scishow Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/scishow Tumblr: http://scishow.tumblr.com Instagram: http://instagram.com/thescishow ---------- Sources: https://doi.org/10.1080/073911011010524992 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shpsc.2016.02.016 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-011-9879-7 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tig.2010.07.003 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33519747/ https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/cix349 https://doi.org/10.1515/bmc-2020-0001 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19270719/ https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shpsc.2016.02.008 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shpsc.2016.02.010 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shpsc.2016.02.014 https://doi.org/10.1038/340467a0 https://doi.org/10.2307/1313569 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30300353/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26475454/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12663918/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16741503/ https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shpsc.2016.02.010 https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470015902.a0023269 https://doi.org/10.1128/JVI.01107-07 Image Source https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/big-oak-in-the-sunlight-gm1186742971-334950326 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Paenibacillus_alvei_endospore_microscope_image.tif https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wolbachia.png https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Electron_microscopic_image_of_a_mimivirus_-_journal.ppat.1000087.g007_crop.png https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mitochondria,_mammalian_lung_-_TEM.jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?search=bacteriophage&title=Special:MediaSearch&go=Go&type=image https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/3d-virus-cells-attacking-a-dna-strand-gm1154473170-313965927 https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/virus-cells-under-the-microscope-gm1218190140-355876337 https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/virus-dna-covid-19-coronavirus-dna-water-white-background-3d-rendering-gm1216077362-354457735 https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/diatoms-are-photosynthesising-algae-they-have-a-siliceous-skeleton-and-are-found-in-gm1182559067-332114302 https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/2020-coronavirus-pandemic-banner-gm1213840577-352931797