Explanation

Viruses cannot reproduce on their own and must infect a living cell to make copies of themselves. They inject their genetic material into a host cell like a bacteria or animal cell. The host cell machinery then builds new virus particles following the virus instructions.

Viruses are not considered truly alive because they cannot eat, grow, or reproduce independently. They exist in a gray area between living and non-living things. Outside a host cell, viruses are just particles of genetic material wrapped in protein.

Viruses lack cellular structure and do not have organelles, membranes, or cytoplasm like real cells. They are much simpler than bacteria or any living cell. This is why antibiotics that kill bacteria do not work against viruses.