Which characteristics of bacteria (germ) make them living organisms and which don ?
A living organism is one that can reproduce without the need for a host organism. Viruses reproduce but only when they are within a host cell: left to their own devices they just sit there and die and so they are not classed as living organisms. Bacteria, however, occasionally split in half after they’ve had enough to eat and the result is two (near-)identical copies of the cell.
