Changes

A '''virus''' is a non-[[cell]]ular infectious agent that has two characteristics: It has genetic material (either [[DNA]] or [[RNA]]) inside a protective [[protein]] coat, and it cannot reproduce itself.<ref>Wile, Dr. Jay L. ''Exploring Creation With Biology''. Apologia Educational Ministries, Inc. 1998</ref> To reproduce itself, it needs to infect a cell. The genetic material is inserted into the cell, and the reproductive machinery of that cell is then effectively "hijacked": the cell starts to produce components of new virus particles. These components spontaneously self-assemble and the new virus particles can then infect other cells, where the same process happens.

A '''virus''' is a non-[[cell]]ular infectious agent that has two characteristics: It has genetic material (either [[DNA]] or [[RNA]]) inside a protective [[protein]] coat, and it cannot reproduce itself.<ref>Wile, Dr. Jay L. ''Exploring Creation With Biology''. Apologia Educational Ministries, Inc. 1998</ref> To reproduce itself, it needs to infect a cell. The genetic material is inserted into the cell, and the reproductive machinery of that cell is then effectively "hijacked": the cell starts to produce components of new virus particles. These components spontaneously self-assemble and the new virus particles can then infect other cells, where the same process happens.