Biology / Biological Science / Biotechnology / Biochemistry
Subject code 304 · domain paper
Each of those rules names Biology / Biological Science / Biotechnology / Biochemistry outright — no combination of the other papers reaches them. That is the whole case for spending one of five slots on it.
The paper at a glance
Biology carries the subject code 304. The syllabus described here is the one published for 2026-27.
NTA's full label for the paper is Biology / Biological Science / Biotechnology / Biochemistry: one syllabus serves all four programme names. It is a short document: a cover page and two pages of text.
How the syllabus is organised
The document is laid out in five units, numbered Unit-VI to Unit-X. The odd-looking numbering is deliberate: it follows the NCERT Class 11-12 sequence, in which Units I to V are Class 11 and Units VI to X are Class 12. Only the Class 12 half appears here, so there are no Units I to V to look for.
Each unit is split into two or three numbered chapters, and each chapter is a semicolon-separated list of topics, closely tracking the NCERT Class 12 textbook.
The syllabus itself is a list of topics only. It does not print question counts, marks, negative marking or timing, and it does not say how many questions come from each unit. Read it alongside the exam pattern.
Units VI and VII: reproduction, genetics and evolution
These are the two largest units, and Genetics and Evolution is the most detailed passage in the document, naming individual disorders, experiments and evidences.
| Unit | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Unit-VI: Reproduction | Sexual reproduction in flowering plants — pre-fertilisation structure and events (stamen, microsporangium, pollen grain, pistil, megasporangium, embryo sac), microsporogenesis and megasporogenesis, pollination types, agents and examples, outbreeding devices, pollen-pistil interaction, double fertilisation, post-fertilisation development of endosperm and embryo, formation of seed and fruit, parthenocarpy, significance of seed, apomixis and polyembryony; human reproduction — male and female reproductive systems, microscopic anatomy of testis and ovary, spermatogenesis and oogenesis, menstrual cycle, fertilisation, embryo development up to blastocyst, implantation, pregnancy, embryonic development and placenta, parturition and lactation; reproductive health — amniocentesis, population stabilisation and contraception, medical termination of pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, infertility and assisted reproductive technologies (IVF, ZIFT, GIFT, ICSI and IUI) |
| Unit-VII: Genetics and Evolution | Principles of inheritance and variation — Mendel's laws, inheritance of one gene (dominance, segregation, test and back cross), incomplete dominance and co-dominance, multiple alleles and blood groups, inheritance of two genes and the dihybrid cross, chromosomal theory, linkage and recombination, polygenic inheritance, pleiotropy, sex determination in humans, birds and honey bee, mutation, pedigree analysis, Mendelian disorders (colour blindness, haemophilia, sickle-cell anaemia, phenylketonuria, thalassemia), chromosomal disorders (aneuploidy, polyploidy, Down's, Turner's and Klinefelter's syndromes); molecular basis of inheritance — DNA structure and packaging, search for genetic material (transforming principle, Hershey-Chase), properties of genetic material, replication (Meselson and Stahl), transcription, types of RNA, genetic code and mutations, tRNA, translation, lac operon, Human Genome Project, DNA fingerprinting (polymorphism and VNTR); evolution — origin of life and Miller's experiment, Darwin's contribution, evidences for evolution (embryology, paleontology, comparative anatomy, divergent and convergent evolution, industrial melanism printed as "industrial evolution"), adaptive radiation, natural selection, mechanism of evolution, Hardy-Weinberg principle and the factors affecting it, evolution of plants and vertebrates through geological periods, origin and evolution of man |
Units VIII and IX: human welfare and biotechnology
| Unit | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Unit-VIII: Biology and Human Welfare | Human health and disease — introduction to health, common diseases (typhoid, pneumonia, common cold, malaria, amoebiasis, ascariasis, filariasis, ringworm), innate and acquired immunity, active and passive immunity, vaccination and immunisation, allergies, auto-immunity and the human immune system, AIDS, cancer, drugs and alcohol abuse (adolescence, addiction, effects, prevention and control); microbes in human welfare — household products, industrial products (beverages, antibiotics, enzymes, bioactive molecules), sewage treatment and biogas, biocontrol agents and biofertilisers |
| Unit-IX: Biotechnology and its Applications | Principles and processes — principles of biotechnology, tools of recombinant DNA technology (restriction enzymes, cloning vectors, competent host), processes of rDNA technology (isolation, gene amplification by PCR, insertion of rDNA into the host, bioreactors), downstream processing; applications — agriculture (tissue culture, genetically modified organisms, Bt cotton, RNA interference), medicine (insulin, gene therapy, molecular diagnosis), transgenic animals, ethical issues (biopiracy and patents) |
The eight common diseases and the five assisted reproductive technologies are named one by one, which is as specific as the document gets.
Unit X: Ecology and Environment
| Unit | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Unit-X: Ecology and Environment | Organisms and populations — population attributes (birth and death rate, age pyramids), exponential and logistic growth, life history variation, population interactions (predation, competition, parasitism, commensalism, mutualism, amensalism); ecosystem — structure and function, productivity, decomposition, energy flow through trophic levels, food chain and food web, pyramids of energy, biomass and number; biodiversity and conservation — concept, patterns and importance, causes of biodiversity loss, conservation approaches (narrowly utilitarian, broadly utilitarian, ethical), in situ methods (endemism, hotspots, sacred groves) and ex situ methods (wildlife safaris, zoological parks, cryopreservation) |
This unit lists three chapters: organisms and populations, ecosystem, and biodiversity and conservation. The NCERT chapter on environmental issues is not among them.
What this syllabus does not tell you
The document is a topic list and nothing more. From it you cannot learn:
- how many questions come from each unit, or the marks, negative marking and duration — those are on the exam pattern;
- the weightage of any unit, so treat every unit as examinable rather than ranking them;
- how difficult the questions will be, or how recall, diagram-based and reasoning questions are mixed;
- which books to use; the syllabus names no textbook, although its chapters follow NCERT Class 12;
- whether Biotechnology or Biochemistry applicants face anything different from Biology applicants — the document gives one list for all four names;
- how much weight a university gives this paper once you qualify — the programmes that accept it are listed below, but the marks or ranking rule each one applies sits in its own admission bulletin.
One wording in the source to be aware of: under evidences for evolution it prints "industrial evolution", where the NCERT topic is industrial melanism. We transcribe it as printed and note the standard term alongside.
For anything about attempt rules or numbers of questions, go to the NTA information bulletin and the exam pattern rather than to this list.
Where this paper can take you
Programmes whose rule can use Biology / Biological Science / Biotechnology / Biochemistry, from the 22 universities whose documents we have read. 60 of them cannot be reached any other way.
Bachelor of Physiotherapy (BPT) · B Design (Fashion) [ 2+2 with international credit transfer option] · B Sc (IT) [2+2 with international credit transfer option] · and 111 more
B.Sc. (Hons.) Zoology · B.Sc. (Prog.) Life Science · B.Sc. (Hons.) Botany · and 57 more
Bachelor of Occupational Therapy · Bachelor of Physiotherapy · Bachelor of Science (Biochemistry) (Honours/Honours with Research) · and 52 more
Bachelor of Arts (Global Studies) · Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) - Economics · Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) - English · and 11 more
Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) · B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) · Five Year Integrated Programme in Management (BBA & MBA) · and 11 more
B.Sc. (Hons.) Bioinformatics · B.Sc. (Hons.) Life Sciences · B.Sc. (Hons.) Chemistry · and 7 more
B.Sc. (Hons.) Biochemistry · B.Sc. (Hons.) Biotechnology · B.Sc. (Hons.) Botany · and 5 more
B.Sc. (Honours) Medical Radiology and Imaging Technology · B.Sc. (Honours) — Botany, Chemistry, Zoology, Home Science, Geography, Earth Science (Bio group) · B.Voc. Medical Lab Technology · and 3 more
B.Sc. (Honours) Anthropology · B.Sc. (Honours) Biotechnology · B.Sc. (Honours) Botany · and 1 more
B.Tech. Biotechnology · B.Tech. Biotechnology (Lateral Entry) · Bachelor of Pharmacy · and 1 more
B.Sc. (Honours) Agriculture · Botany (Major) · Five-Year Integrated M.Sc. · and 1 more
B.Sc. (Hons.) Community Science · B.Sc. (Hons.) Geography · B.Sc. (Hons.) Statistics
5-Year Integrated M.B.A. (Hospital Administration) · 5-Year Dual Degree B.Tech.–M.Tech. (Energy and Environmental Engineering) · B.Pharm. — 4 years
Integrated B.Sc.–M.Sc. (Chemistry) · Integrated B.Sc.–M.Sc. (Mathematics) · Integrated B.Sc.–M.Sc. (Physics)
B.Sc. in Forensic Science · Bachelor of Arts (Journalism and Mass Communication) · Bachelor of Business Administration
Five Year Integrated Post Graduate Programme in Life Sciences (Botany) · Five Year Integrated Post Graduate Programme in Life Sciences (Zoology)
5 Year Integrated M.Sc. (Applied Geology) · 5 Year Integrated M.Sc. (Biology)