This article is about the aqueous solution. For the gas, see hydrogen chloride. Hydrochloric acid is a corrosive, strong mineral acid with many industrial uses. A colorless, highly pungent solution of hydrogen chloride (HCl) in water, when it reacts with an organic base it forms a hydrochloride salt.
Bacteria are intercellular organisms (i.e. they live in-between cells); whereas viruses are intracellular organisms (they infiltrate the host cell and live inside the cell). They change the host cell's genetic material from its normal function to producing the virus itself.
A virus is little more than a section of RNA or DNA covered by a protein shell. A bacterium, therefore, is at least a hundred times larger than a typical virus. One major difference between viruses and bacteria is the method of reproduction. A bacterium is a completely self-contained and self-reproducing unit. When the time is right, a bacterium will split its DNA and RNA genetic material in two.