Biological Science (BIOS)
3 units: Biology and Human Welfare, Biotechnology and its Applications, Ecology and Environment.
Detailed syllabus
Unit 1: Biology and Human Welfare (20 hours, 10 marks)
Human health and diseases (immunity, antigens and antibodies, vaccines; malaria, filariasis, dengue, chikungunya, typhoid, pneumonia, common cold, amoebiasis, ringworm, COVID; allergy and autoimmunity; cancer, HIV/AIDS; drug and alcohol abuse); improvement in food production (plant breeding, tissue culture, single-cell protein); microbes in human welfare.
Unit 2: Biotechnology and its Applications (15 hours, 12 marks)
Principles and process of recombinant DNA technology; applications in health and agriculture: human insulin, vaccines, stem cell and gene therapy, Bt crops, transgenic animals; biosafety, biopiracy and patents.
Unit 3: Ecology and Environment (23 hours, 13 marks)
Organisms and populations (habitat, niche, population interactions and attributes); ecosystem (components, productivity, decomposition, energy flow, ecological pyramids, succession); biodiversity and its conservation (hotspots, endangered species, Red Data Book, sacred groves, biosphere reserves, national parks, sanctuaries, Ramsar sites); environmental issues and movements (Chipko, DGSM, Silent Valley, Bishnoi).
Source: official document