Special TET 2026 State-Level Model Exam Today at 4:00 PM!
UGC NET Statistics Model Exam 2026 Today at 5:00 PM!
Special TET 2026 State-Level Model Exam Today at 4:00 PM!
UGC NET Statistics Model Exam 2026 Today at 5:00 PM!
Take the next step in your scientific career with the detailed CSIR NET Life Science syllabus, designed to evaluate your understanding of Molecular Biology, Genetics, Ecology, Cell Biology, Physiology, and Developmental Biology.
The syllabus integrates core concepts and application-based questions for aspiring researchers and lecturers. Professor Academy provides expert-led, bilingual online coaching to help you master every unit with confidence. Download the full CSIR NET Life Science syllabus now and prepare with precision.
A. Structure of atoms, molecules and chemical
B. Composition, structure and function of biomolecules (carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, nucleic acids and vitamins).
C. Stabilizing interactions (van der Waals, electrostatic, hydrogen bonding, hydrophobic interaction, etc.).
D. Principles of biophysical chemistry (pH, buffer, reaction kinetics, thermodynamics, colligative properties).
E. Bioenergetics, glycolysis, oxidative phosphorylation, coupled reactions, group transfer, biological energy transducers.
F. Principles of catalysis, enzymes and enzyme kinetics, enzyme regulation, mechanism of enzyme catalysis, isozymes
G. Conformation of proteins (Ramachandran plot, secondary structure, domains, motif and folds).
H. Conformation of nucleic acids (Structural characteristics of A, B and Z DNA; RNA conformation).
I. Stability of proteins and nucleic
J. Metabolism of carbohydrates, lipids, amino acids, nucleotides and vitamins.
Cell wall, physical structure of model membranes in prokaryotes and eukaryotes, lipid bilayer, membrane proteins, diffusion, osmosis, ion channels, active transport, membrane pumps, mechanism of sorting and regulation of intracellular transport, electrical properties of membranes.
Nucleus and its organization and dynamics, mitochondria, Golgi bodies, lysosomes, endoplasmic reticulum, peroxisomes, plastids, vacuoles, chloroplast, structure & function of cytoskeleton and its role in motility.
Operon, unique and repetitive DNA, interrupted genes, gene families, structure of chromatin and chromosomes, heterochromatin, euchromatin, transposons.
Mitosis and meiosis, their regulation, steps in cell cycle, regulation and control of cell cycle, apoptosis, necrosis and autophagy.
Growth kinetics, strategies of cell division, stress response, antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
Unit of replication, enzymes involved, replication origin and replication fork, fidelity of replication, extrachromosomal replicons, DNA damage and repair mechanisms, homologous and site-specific recombination.
Mechanism and regulation of transcription, transcriptional inhibitors, transcription factors and machinery, transcription activators and repressors, RNA polymerases, capping, RNA processing, RNA editing, splicing, and polyadenylation, structure and function of different types of RNA, RNA transport, ribozyme, riboswitches, non-coding RNA.
Ribosome, mechanism of translation and its regulation, translational inhibitors, post- translational modification of proteins, protein trafficking and transport, protein degradation.
Regulation of gene expression in phages, viruses, prokaryotes and eukaryotes, role of chromatin in gene expression and gene silencing, epigenetic regulation.
Hormones and their receptors, cell surface receptors, signaling through G-protein coupled receptors, signal transduction pathways, second messengers, regulation of signaling pathways, bacterial and plant two-component systems, light-signaling in plants, bacterial chemotaxis and quorum sensing.
General principles of cell communication, cell adhesion and roles of different adhesion molecules, gap junctions, extracellular matrix, integrins, neurotransmission and its regulation, regulation of haematopoiesis.
Cells and molecules involved in innate and adaptive immunity, antigens, antigenicity and immunogenicity, B and T cell epitopes, structure and function of antibody molecules, generation of antibody diversity, monoclonal antibodies, antibody engineering, antigenantibody interactions, MHC molecules, antigen processing and presentation, activation and differentiation of B and T cells, B and T cell receptors, humoral and cell- mediated immune responses, primary and secondary immune modulation, the complement system, Toll-like receptors, cell-mediated effector functions, inflammation, hypersensitivity and autoimmunity, immune response during bacterial, parasitic and viral infections, congenital and acquired immunodeficiencies, vaccines.
Recognition and entry processes of different pathogens like bacteria, viruses into animal and plant host cells, alteration of host cell behaviour by pathogens, virus-induced cell transformation, pathogen-induced diseases in animals and plants, cell-cell fusion in both normal and abnormal cells.
Genetic rearrangements in progenitor cells, oncogenes, tumor suppressor genes, cancer and the cell cycle, virus-induced cancer, metastasis, interaction of cancer cells with normal cells, therapeutic interventions of uncontrolled cell growth.
Potency, commitment, specification, induction, competence, determination and differentiation, morphogenetic gradients, cell fate and cell lineages, stem cells, genomic equivalence and the cytoplasmic determinants, imprinting, mutants and transgenics in analysis of development.
Production of gametes, cell surface molecules in sperm-egg recognition in animals, zygote formation, cleavage, blastula formation, embryonic fields, gastrulation and formation of germ layers in animals.
Male gametophyte development, embryo sac development and double fertilization in plants, embryogenesis, establishment of symmetry in plants, seed formation, embryo and endosperm developmental dynamics and germination.
Cell aggregation and differentiation in Dictyostelium, axes and pattern formation in Drosophila, amphibia and chick; organogenesis – vulva formation in Caenorhabditis elegans, eye lens induction, limb development and regeneration in vertebrates, differentiation of neurons, post embryonic development – larval formation, metamorphosis; environmental regulation of normal development; sex determination.
Organization of shoot and root apical meristem, shoot and root development, leaf development and phyllotaxy, transition to flowering, floral meristems, organogenesis and floral development.
Light harvesting complexes, mechanisms of electron transport, photoprotective mechanisms, CO2 fixation – C3, C4 and CAM pathways.
Citric acid cycle, plant mitochondrial electron transport and ATP synthesis, alternate oxidase, photorespiratory pathway.
Nitrate and ammonium assimilation; amino acid biosynthesis, biological nitrogen fixation.
Biosynthesis, storage, breakdown and transport, physiological effects and mechanisms of action.
Light perception, structure, function and mechanisms of action of phytochromes, cryptochromes and phototropins, stomatal movement, photoperiodism and biological clock.
Uptake, transport and translocation of water, ions, solutes and macromolecules from soil, through cells, across membranes, through xylem and phloem, transpiration, mechanisms of loading and unloading of photoassimilates.
Biosynthesis of terpenes, phenolics, alkaloids, phenylpropanoids, nitrogenous compounds and their roles, metabolic engineering in plants.
Physiological and molecular responses of plants to biotic and abiotic stresses, innate immunity.
Blood corpuscles, haemopoiesis and formed elements, plasma function, blood volume, blood volume regulation, blood groups, haemoglobin, immunity, haemostasis.
Comparative anatomy of heart structure, myogenic heart, specialized tissue, ECG – its principle and significance, cardiac cycle, heart as a pump, blood pressure, neural and chemical regulation of cardiovascular system.
Comparison of respiration in different species, anatomical considerations, transport of gases, exchange of gases, waste elimination, neural and chemical regulation of respiration.
Neurons, action potential, gross neuroanatomy of the brain and spinal cord, central and peripheral nervous system, neural control of muscle tone and posture.
Comparative physiology of excretion, kidney, urine formation, urine concentration, waste elimination, micturition, regulation of water balance, blood volume, blood pressure, electrolyte balance, acid-base balance.
Principles of Mendelian inheritance, codominance, incomplete dominance, penetrance and expressivity, gene interactions, pleiotropy, genomic imprinting, linkage and cross-over, sexlinked inheritance, inheritance of mitochondrial and chloroplast genes, maternal inheritance.
Allele, multiple alleles, pseudoallele, complementation tests; Mutation types, causes and detection; mutant types – lethal, conditional, biochemical, loss of function, gain of function, dominant-negative; germinal verses somatic mutations.
Linkage maps, mapping with molecular markers in plants, animals and bacteria, tetrad analysis, gene transfer in bacteria: transformation, conjugation, transduction, sex-duction, fine structure analysis of gene, development of mapping population in plants.
Pedigree analysis, LOD score for linkage testing, karyotypes, genetic disorders.
Population genetics and Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, polygenic inheritance, heritability and its measurements, molecular mapping.
Recombination, deletion, duplication, inversion, translocation, ploidy and their genetic implications.
Origin of life and early evolution; Evolution of cellular structures, functions and multicellularity; Mechanisms of evolution – Natural selection, genetic drift, gene flow, and mutation; Mechanisms of speciation; Extinction events and their role in shaping biodiversity; Adaptive radiation and convergent evolution; Coevolution and evolutionary arms races; Human evolution.
Concepts of species and hierarchical taxa, biological nomenclature, classical & quantitative methods of taxonomy of plants, animals and microorganisms.
Bacteria and Archaea: diversity and ecological roles; Viruses: structure, replication, and impact on life; Economically and pathologically important microbes.
Algae; Protozoa; Slime molds and water molds; Ecological roles of protists.
Diversity of fungal groups: chytrids, zygomycetes, glomeromycetes, ascomycetes, and basidiomycetes; Important fungal pathogens of plants and humans.
Evolution and diversity of land plants: bryophytes, ferns, gymnosperms, and angiosperms; Plant morphology, anatomy, and reproduction.
Evolutionary relationships and key characteristics of Invertebrates and Vertebrates.
Levels of organization- individual, population, community, ecosystem, biosphere; Abiotic and biotic ecological factors, Ecological adaptations.
Population growth models- Exponential growth, logistic growth, density-dependent and density-independent factors, life tables, survivorship curves; Population dynamics- Age structure, sex ratio, life history strategies (r-selected vs. K-selected); Metapopulations- Habitat fragmentation, connectivity, and extinction risk.
Community structure – Food webs, trophic levels, keystone species; Species interactions – Competition, predation, mutualism, parasitism; Succession- Primary and secondary succession, community stability.
Energy flow in ecosystems- Primary production, trophic levels, energy pyramids; Biogeochemical cycles- Carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, water cycles; Ecosystem services and human impacts.
Anthropogenic pressures: Land use and land-cover change; Climate change, pollution, invasive species.
Biodiversity and its importance; Threats to biodiversity; IUCN categories of threat; Conservation genetics; Population viability analysis (PVA); Ex-situ and in-situ conservation strategies; Community-based conservation and the role of indigenous knowledge; International and national conservation policies and legislation.
Biodiversity Act 2002; Agricultural biodiversity; International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (PGRFA); Conservation strategies for seed gene bank; Climate change and conservation of plant genetic resources; Strategies on PPVFR and Biodiversity Acts.
Introduction to animal behaviour- Proximate and ultimate causes of behaviour; Foraging behaviour; Communication; Conflict and aggression; Migration, dispersal, and navigation;
Social behaviour; Sexual selection and mating systems; Parental care.
Sequence databases, gene expression databases, 3D structure database, pattern sequence databases.
Database searches, BLAST and FASTA, sequence identity and similarity, definitions of homologues, orthologues, paralogues, repeat finding, scoring matrix, pairwise sequence alignments, multiple sequence alignments (MSA), application in taxonomy and phylogeny, comparative genomics.
Prediction of gene function using homology, context, structures, networks; Genetic variationpolymorphism, deleterious mutations; Phylogenetics.
3-D structure visualization and simulation, Basic concepts in molecular modeling, Molecular Mechanics, Force fields etc.
Anatomy of proteins – Hierarchical organization of protein structure, Secondary and tertiary structure prediction, homology/comparative modeling, fold recognition, threading approaches, and ab initio structure prediction methods, AI-based methods of structure prediction (eg. AlphaFold).
Chemical databases like NCI /PUBCHEM, Fundamentals of Receptor-ligand interactions, Structure-based drug design, Ligand based drug design: Structure-Activity Relationship,
QSARs and pharmacophores, in silico predictions of drug activity and ADMET.
Data science applications in biology, health and drug discovery, mathematical modelling of metabolic pathways and disease, digital health, personalized medicine.
Calculus review, Ordinary differential equations, Second and higher order differential equations, Linear algebra, Numerical methods.
Material and energy balance, Steady state energy and material balance, Properties of substances, Introduction to transport phenomena, momentum transfer, heat and mass transfer, Introduction to mass transfer equipment.
First and second law of thermodynamics, Biological systems as open non-equilibrium systems, Failure of classical thermodynamics in describing biological processes, Concepts of thermodynamics flux and force, Concept of entropy production, Constitutive equations, Thermodynamics of coupled biochemical reactions, Thermodynamic analysis of oxidative phosphorylation, Glycolytic oscillations; biological clocks.
Principles of microbial growth and factors affecting growth, Growth kinetics and substrate utilization in batch, fed-batch and continuous systems, Introduction to bioreactors: batch and fed-batch, plug flow, continuous, enzyme reactors, Sterilization, Mass and energy balance in microbial process-effects of dissolved oxygen, Mass transfer of oxygen, aeration and agitation, fluid rheology, Fermentation technology for antibiotics, organic acids, alcohol, bioplastics, vitamins, enzymes; biotransformation of steroids, Process flow sheet and process economics.
Enzymes in organic solvents and ionic liquids, biocatalysts, enzyme engineering, random and rational approach to protein engineering, Biocatalysis, techniques of immobilization of
enzymes and whole cells: design, operation and kinetics of immobilized enzyme reactors, diffusional resistance and Thiele modulus.
Biomass removal and disruption, Precipitation by salts, solvents, Membrane based purification, Adsorption and chromatography, Extraction (solvent, aqueous two-phase, super critical), Drying.
General design information, Process flow sheet, Scale-up and scale-down issues, Scale up of downstream processes. Selection and specifications of bioprocess equipment.
Molecular cloning, expression of recombinant proteins, In vitro mutagenesis and deletion techniques, gene knock out in bacterial and eukaryotic organisms, genome editing techniques. Protein sequencing methods, DNA sequencing methods, strategies for genome sequencing and gene expression analysis.
Application of immunological principles (autoimmunity, transplantation, tumor immunology, stem cell therapy, cell-based vaccines), vaccines (Live, killed, attenuated, subunit, and recombinant nucleic acid vaccines) and diagnostics, adjuvants, cell therapy, stem cell therapy, immunotherapy, r-DNA based therapy, antibody engineering, phage display libraries, tissue engineering.
Stem cell technology: induced pluripotent stem cells, guided/directed differentiation methods; application in drug screening and disease biology; Organoid: Stem-cell based, selforganizing 3D models for disease and developmental biology.
Neurobiology: Electrophysiological studies of the brain, behavioural tests.
Medical devices and implants, Biosensors
Transgenic animals, animal breeding, conservation of germplasm, genetic health monitoring, molecular medicine and surgery, concept of molecular diagnosis of pathogens, cell cloning and selection, cell and tissue culture methods in biotechnological applications.
Transgenic plants, molecular approaches to diagnosis and strain identification; genomics and its application to agriculture, development of ESTs, molecular markers for plant genotyping and germplasm analysis, marker assisted breeding for various traits, foreground and background selection, gene introgression and pyramiding, non-gel based techniques for plant genotyping, impact of GE crops on biodiversity; tissue and cell culture methods in plants, plantibodies.
Important marine organisms, their biology and behaviour, marine resources assessment, Population study and marine environment protection, role of microbes in marine environment, microbial metabolites, seafood microbiology, marine pharmacology, fouling and corrosion, biofilms; oceanography
Wastewater treatment systems, Pollution control, Environment friendly technologies: Biosurfactants, biofertilizers, biopesticides, microbially enhanced oil recovery, integrated waste management, biogas & biofuel from waste, bioremediation, phytoremediation.
Isolation, separation and analysis of biological macromolecules (DNA, RNA, proteins, carbohydrates and lipids), chromatography, electrophoresis and centrifugation.
Spectroscopy (UV/visible, fluorescence, circular dichroism, NMR and ESR), molecular structure determination using X-ray diffraction, cryo-electron microscopy and NMR, Molecular analysis using light scattering, different types of mass spectrometry methods and surface plasma resonance.
Structure and organization of prokaryotic and eukaryotic genomes, Comparative genomics, Global gene expression analysis, Comparative transcriptomics, Differential gene expression; protein interaction analysis and mapping, targeted and untargeted metabolic profiling, DNA finger printing and its applications, DNA bar coding, Single-cell sequencing, single-cell omics.
Detection and measurement of different types of radioisotopes normally used in biology, incorporation of radioisotopes in biological tissues and cells, molecular imaging ofradioactive material, safety guidelines.
Antibody generation, Detection of molecules using ELISA, RIA, western blot, immunoprecipitation, flow cytometry and immunofluorescence microscopy, detection of molecules in living cells, in situ localization by techniques such as FISH and GISH.
Visualization of cells and subcellular components by light microscopy and advanced microscopic techniques, resolving power of microscopes, microscopy of living cells, scanning and transmission microscopes, sample preparation techniques for microscopy.
Single neuron recording, patch-clamp recording, ECG, Brain activity recording, lesion and stimulation of brain, pharmacological testing, PET, MRI, fMRI, CAT.
Methods of estimating population density of animals and plants, ranging patterns through direct, indirect and remote observations, sampling methods in the study of behaviour, habitat characterization: ground and remote sensing methods.
Concepts of precision and accuracy in experimental measurements, signal to noise ratio, Measures of central tendency and dispersal; probability distributions (Binomial, Poisson and normal); Sampling distribution; Difference between parametric and non-parametric statistics; Confidence Interval; Errors; Levels of significance; Regression and Correlation; t-test; Analysis of variance; X2 test; basic introduction to multivariate statistics, etc.
Intellectual property rights, types of IP, Patent databases; Biological safety measures, biosafety levels, regulatory guidelines, animal ethics, research ethics, publication ethics, plagiarism, use of AI in research and publication.
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