how closely comparable is a virus to DNA or Rna?
403247
Essentially the first question is right, but human viruses are very clever in that several coat layers are used. for example HPV, HSV (herpes).  Viruses are just proteins and DNA, nothing more.  They don't contain organelles, they don't reproduce independantly, they don't fulfill many life functions.
89359
i'm going to say no. dna has evolved in organisms over millions of millions of years on this planet to be just the way it is today. viruses are random strands of this dna or rna (viruses are not alive). the chances that a similar genetic material has developed elsewhere in this universe is extremely thin, and on top of that, there would be a slim chance of it somehow reaching our earth.
1025938
DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid)\n\nUsually in the form of a double helix, [it] contains the genetic instructions specifying the biological development of all cellular forms of life, and many viruses. -Wikipedia
380054
like others have said parasites are definately living things.  I didn't know there was even a debate as to whether virus are living things, I thought it was pretty much agreed upon that they are.  I guess it depends on your definition of life, which is something that's a hotly debated issue.  I don't think there is a clear cut answer myself as far as what should be considered a life form and what shouldn't.
205231
DNA has four bases, the ones you are referring to as chemicals. The names of these bases are Adenine (A), Thymine (T), Cytosine (C) and Guanine (G). In RNA all these bases are also present except T where it is replaced by Uracil (U). So when information is copied from DNA to RNA (mRNA specifically) C pairs with G, G pairs with C, T pairs with A and A pairs with U (since there is no T but U in RNA).\n\nBesides that the chemical composition of DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid) is a Phosphate group, a base(the four bases) and a sugar (Deoxyribose). These three parts together form a nucleotide. A nucleotide without a phosphate group is called a nucleoside. The 'chemicals' you are looking for are Adenine, Thymine, Cytosine and Guanine.
1049646
archae bacteria...virus are not animals since they don't contain both DNA and RNA at the same time...most scientists consider virus as not living...the composition of matter are the cells...its a pleasure helping you...
840381
Well the answer is all of the above, which is wrong.\n\nBoth single stranded and double stranded RNA molecules exist.   Single stranded and double stranded DNA both exist as well.\n\nThough in both cases, the less common variant (dsRNA and ssDNA) is usually viral.
867996
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions for the biological development of a cellular form of life or a virus. All known cellular life and some viruses have DNAs. DNA is a long polymer of nucleotides (a polynucleotide) that encodes the sequence of amino acid residues in proteins, using the genetic code.
65045
A virus is a microscopic parasite that infects cells in biological organisms. Viruses are obligate intracellular parasites; they can reproduce only by invading and controlling other cells as they lack the cellular machinery for self-reproduction. The term virus usually refers to those particles that infect eukaryotes (multi-celled organisms and many single-celled organisms), whilst the term bacteriophage or phage is used to describe those infecting prokaryotes (bacteria and bacteria-like organisms lacking a nucleus). Typically these particles carry a small amount of nucleic acid (either DNA or RNA, but not both) surrounded by some form of protective coat consisting of proteins, lipids, glycoproteins or a combination. Importantly, viral genomes code not only for the proteins needed to package its genetic material, but for proteins needed by the virus during its life cycle (the term "life cycle" is used loosely here—see #Living or non-living?).
6888
First off jamesmusik84's is completely wrong. Please don't consider any of it. The second answer is along the right path, except I have no idea what the reference to antibiotic is suggesting and some viruses have RNA genomes but many more have DNA genomes. And as far as bacteria go, both RNA and DNA are present inside there cells.\n\nSo, the answer to your question. Let's start this way: Bacteria are small single-celled organisms. Unllike eukaryotic cells (like the ones that make up animals, plants, fungi and many single-celled organisms such as yeasts) which package their genetic material (DNA) in membrane structures called nuclei, bacteria (which are also referred to as prokaryotes) don't have a nucleus. Bacteria also don't have other organelles which are found in eukaryotes, such as endoplasmic reticulum, mitochandria, chloroplasts, golgi bodies, etc. But like eukaryotes, bacteria do have an outer lipid membrane.\n\nSo, you can think of bacteria of little fluid filled sacs. Along with eukaryotic, bacteria are an example of "cells" which are the smallest unit of living things on earth.\n\nViruses, on the other hand, do not have an outer membrane. They don't the capacity to make their own proteins. They don't have the capacity ot replicate or metabolize on their own -- of which bacteria (and eukaryotes) do. It's for this reason that we don't consider viruses "living" things. Viruses have to "infect" a cell -- injecting its genetic material inside -- and use the cell's metabolic machinery to reproduce.\n\nViruses are essentially small protein "capsules" that have a piece of genetic information packaged inside. Because viruses are required to infect a cell to propogate themselves, they are classified as obligate intra-cellular pathogens.\n\nViruses tend to only infect specific cell types. Some infect bacteria. Some infect plants. Others infect animals. The specificity of what a virus can infect is goes beyond whether they can infect bacteria, plants or animals. Usually viruses have to infect a very specific animal, plant or bacteria. And even in the case of viruses that infect animals and plants, not only do the infect specif animals, they are usually limited to a few cell types whithin that animal.\n\nTake HIV for example: to the best of my knowledge HIV only infects humans (i.e. the "H" in HIV -- Human Immunodeficiency Virus). But it doesn't just infect any human cell. HIV only infects white blood cells -- specifically a class of white blood cells called T cells (there are many other "classes" of white blood cells including such things as B cells, NK cells, neutrophils, basophils, eosinophils and macrophages).\n\nI hope this sheds some light on the matter.
218892
1.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n2. Viruses are neither unicellular nor multicellular organisms; they are somewhere between being living and non-living. Viruses have genes and show inheritance, but are reliant on host cells to produce new generations of viruses. Many viruses have similarities to complex molecules. Because viruses are dependent on host cells for their replication they are generally not classified as "living". Whether they are "alive", they are obligate parasites, and have no form which can reproduce independently of their host. Like most parasites, they have a specific host range, sometimes specific to one species (or even limited cell types of one species) and sometimes more general.\n\n3. protozoa and algae. I don't know why\n\n4. The protozoa are mostly single-celled, motile, and feed by phagocytosis, though there are numerous exceptions. They are usually only 0.01-0.5 mm in size, generally too small to be seen without a microscope. They are ubiquitous throughout aqueous environments and the soil, commonly surviving dry periods as cysts or spores, and include several important parasites. Based on locomotion, protozoa are grouped into:\n\nFlagellates with long flagella  -like Euglena\nAmoeboids with transient pseudopodia   -like Amoeba\nCiliates with multiple, short cilia    -Paramecium\nSporozoa non-motile parasites; form spores like Plasmodium.\n\n\n\n5. The algae gather light energy through photosynthesis. They include many single-celled creatures that are also considered protozoa, such as Euglena and Paramecium bursaria, which have acquired chloroplasts through secondary endosymbiosis. Others are non-motile, and some are truly multicellular, including some members of the following groups:\nChlorophytes green algae, related to higher plants  -like Ulva\nRhodophytes red algae  -like Porphyra\nHeterokontophytes brown algae, diatoms, etc.  -like Macrocystis\n\nThe green and red algae, along with a small group called the glaucophytes, appear to be close relatives of other plants, and so some authors treat them as Plantae despite their simple organization. Most other types of algae, however, developed separately. They include the haptophytes, cryptomonads, dinoflagellates, euglenids, and chlorarachniophytes, all of which have also been considered protozoans.\n\n\n6.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n7.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n8. hyphae is any of the threadlike filaments forming the mycelium of a fungus. Hyphae is a long, branching filament that, with other hyphae, forms the feeding thallus of a fungus called the mycelium. Hyphae are also found enveloping the gonidia in lichens, making up a large part of their structure. A typical hypha consists of a tubular wall, usually made of chitin, which surrounds, supports, and protects the cells that compose a hypha. For most fungi, a cell within a hyphal filament is separated from other cells by internal cross-walls called septa (singular septum).\n\nSome forms of parasitic fungi have a portion of their hyphae modified to form haustoria that are able to penetrate the tissues of a host organism. Similar, yet mutualistic forms of penetrating hyphae are called mycorrhizae and are important in assisting nutrient and water absorption by plants.\n\n\n\n9. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n10. Lichen is a fungus, usually of the class Ascomycetes, that grows symbiotically with algae, resulting in a composite organism that characteristically forms a crustlike or branching growth on rocks or tree trunks.
562905
the bases in DNA and RNA are nitrogenous bases. they can either be pyrimidines(have 1 ring in their structure) and purines(have 2 rings in their structure).\n\nDNA\nadenine - purine\nthymine - pyrimidines\ncytosine - pyrimidines\nguanine- purines\n\nRNA\nadenine - purine\nuracil - pyrimidine\ngaunine - purine\ncytosine - pyrimidine\n\nin dna and rna the bases are complementary and form hydrogen bonds between them. the pairs are adenine and thymine in dna and in rna adenine and uracil, and in both gaunine and cytosine.\nIt is these bases that form the genetic code.
462681
A virus particle, known as a virion, is little more than a gene transporter, consisting at the most basic level of a genome contained within a protective casing of protein.These structures can range in size from less than 20 nanometers up to 400 nanometers. you need an electron microscope to see them, and in many cases you can only see their shadow, or figure.Remember that viruses cannot reproduce on their own.Viruses are non-living particles and can only replicate when an organism reproduces the viral RNA or DNA. Viruses are considered non-living by the majority of virologists because they do not meet all the criteria of the generally accepted definition of life.
259972
DNA->RNA->Polypeptide->Protein
393558
Viruses are in a nether world. They are neither dead nor alive, and they certainly don't belong to a phylum or a class.
751649
d(eoxyribo)n(ucleic) a(cid) \nDNA is a nucleic acid that carries the genetic info in the cell and is capable of self-replication and synthesis of RNA. DNA consists of two long chains of nucleotides twisted into a double helix and joined by hydrogen bonds between the complementary bases adenine and thymine or cytosine and guanine. The sequence of nucleotides determines individual hereditary characteristics. \n\nr(ibo)n(ucleic) a(cid) \nRNA is a  polymeric constituent of all living cells and many viruses, consisting of a long,single-stranded chain of alternating phosphate and ribose units with the bases adenine, guanine, cytosine, and uracil bonded to the ribose. The structure and base sequence of RNA determines protein synthesis and the transmission of genetic information.
753044
DNA is the human or biological equivalent of computer code.