Are viruses life? Is fire life?

[SpacePerson]

Are viruses life?

And what about fire? Fire grows, fire consumes, fire needs oxygen, fire moves, fire gives off waste (smoke and ash), and can be "killed".

[alextemplet]

Viruses are debatable, but in my opinion they qualify as lifeforms. Be advised, however, I am pretty sure this opinion goes against the majority of scientific concensus, so I wouldn't suggest using this information in a report or anything.

Fire, no, not a life form, just the heat and radiation energy resulting from combustion.

[Alberts]

Viruses are life. But fire is not.
Viruses can replicate, and some viruses can metabolize, so they are lives.
Fire cannot metabolize and replicate, so they are not life. Fire only exchange matter and reproduce. Reproduction is not the character of life.

[alextemplet]

Fire doesn't reproduce. It's just the visible result of a chemical reaction. Not even close to being alive.

[Alberts]

Well, you said that fire cannot reproduce. Then what is the definition of reproduction? I want a clear answer.

[alextemplet]

The simplest definition of reproduction is probably the copying of DNA. Fire doesn't copy anything; it just burns. It's about as alive as a beam of light.

[favorina]

Viruses can replicate, and some viruses can metabolize, so they are lives.

Viruses do not metabolise. They reproduce and this only when inside the host cell. The host cell synthesises the proteins for the virus using the cell's ribosomes.

Are viruses alive? If it were purley a matter of what undergos natural selection then i believe so. fire on the other hand is simply the biproduct of an exergonic reaction.

[MichaelXY]

More like exothermic... The two terms are somewhat confusing.