What is the primary characteristic of viruses?

The primary characteristic of viruses is that they do not contain RNA or DNA in the traditional sense, as they are entities that must hijack the cellular machinery of a host organism to replicate. However, the correct understanding is that viruses do contain either RNA or DNA as their genetic material, which encodes the information necessary for their replication and infection processes. This unique characteristic differentiates viruses from other pathogens, such as bacteria, that can reproduce independently and are made of living cells.

Viruses cannot be classified as living organisms because they lack the cellular structure that characterizes living cells and require a host to replicate and carry out their replication cycle. While viruses can infect bacteria, a variety of organisms, including plants, animals, and human cells, can be host to different viruses, further underscoring the misconception of the given answer. Understanding the nature of viruses involves recognizing that they possess genetic material but operate in a fundamentally different manner compared to living cells, which is essential for surgical technologists when considering infection control and handling potential viral pathogens in the clinical setting.