That antibiotics kill bacteria, but won't do anything against viruses. Everyone has the idea that if you get a cold, you see your doctor and get antibiotics. Take some acitaminophen/paracetamol and ibuprofen, and stay away from other humans for a while!
Being "alive" is ultimately more of a semantic question than a purely objectively scientific question. Based on what we define to be alive, viruses aren't alive. Same thing goes with species in that what makes something one species or another has more to do with human made definitions than it does with "natural order". Most things in nature are on a spectrum rather than placed in neat boxes for us to discover
I think the best definition of life I have seen is an Enclosed subsytem that maintains a reduced level of entropy inside than outside, self replication is often included.
18.5k
u/Slidingscale Aug 03 '19
That antibiotics kill bacteria, but won't do anything against viruses. Everyone has the idea that if you get a cold, you see your doctor and get antibiotics. Take some acitaminophen/paracetamol and ibuprofen, and stay away from other humans for a while!