My understanding is that the fact that viruses are not alive is more of a convention, similar to Pluto not being a planet. This is more of a question than a statement, I would love it if somebody with some knowledge on the matter could chime in.
[There's a "species" that spread around the Andes and eventually reached itself on the other side---and could no longer breeed with "itself". Genes could still in theory travel all the way around and back to the discontinuous point, however.]
edit: http://i.stack.imgur.com/4VsFW.png will make this less confusing, and quite unintentionally :).
An object is considered to be alive if it consumes energy to create or maintain its own order (in opposition to the general effect of the second law of thermodynamics in the wider system in which it finds itself).
Although this doesn't exclude crystals..! :/