Whats the difference between viruses, germs, and bacteria?
A virus is a submicroscopic parasitic particle that infects cells in biological organisms. The study of viruses is virology. Viruses are obligate intracellular parasites that lack the cellular machinery for self-reproduction. Viruses infect eukaryotes and prokaryotes such as bacteria; viruses infecting prokaryotes are also known as bacteriophages or phages. Typically viruses carry a small amount of genetic material, either in the form of DNA or RNA, but not both, surrounded by some form of protective coat consisting of proteins, lipids, glycoproteins or a combination. The viral genome codes for the proteins that constitute this protective coat, as well as for those proteins required for viral reproduction that are not provided by the host cell.
