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Viruses are considered to be nonliving. Here's why:
1. **Characteristics:** Viruses lack key characteristics of living organisms such as cellular structure, the ability to metabolize, grow, or reproduce on their own.
2. **Reproduction:** Viruses cannot replicate without a host cell. They need to infect a living host cell to reproduce and replicate.
3. **Metabolism:** Viruses do not have metabolic processes or organelles like cells do. They do not undergo metabolic activities to generate energy.
4. **Response to stimuli:** Unlike living organisms, viruses do not respond to stimuli in their environment or have a homeostatic mechanism to regulate internal conditions.
In conclusion, while viruses display some characteristics of living organisms such as the ability to evolve and adapt, they are generally considered nonliving entities due to their dependency on a host for replication and their lack of essential life functions.
