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Prelims · Science & technology · 32 questions

Human body, health & diseases

Every UPSC Prelims question on this topic, 2016–2026, newest first. Tap an option to check yourself; the answer and explanation open below it.

Human body, health & diseases questions per year: 2016: 1, 2017: 1, 2018: 0, 2019: 2, 2020: 2, 2021: 3, 2022: 4, 2023: 2, 2024: 1, 2025: 0, 2026: 0 Asked in 8 of 11 years · most in 2022 (4)

Practising Science & technology? Take it as timed sets of 25 →

UPSC syllabus: “General Science.” Sub-topics in the detailed syllabus →

Prelims 2022 · Q37

X-Ray · Core #25 Easy

निम्नलिखित कथनों पर विचार कीजिए :

  1. 1.जैवपरत (बायोफिल्म) मानव ऊतकों के भीतर चिकित्सकीय अंतर्रोपों पर बन सकती हैं ।
  2. 2.जैवपरत खाद्यपदार्थ और खाद्य प्रसंस्करण सतहों पर बन सकती हैं ।
  3. 3.जैवपरत प्रतिजैविक प्रतिरोध दर्शा सकती हैं ।

उपर्युक्त कथनों में कौन-से सही हैं ?

Read this question in English

Consider the following statements:

1. Biofilms can form on medical implants within human tissues.

2. Biofilms can form on food and food processing surfaces.

3. Biofilms can exhibit antibiotic resistance.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only · (b) 2 and 3 only · (c) 1 and 3 only · (d) 1, 2 and 3

उत्तर और व्याख्या · explanation in English

Answer: (d) 1, 2 और 3

All three statements are true. A biofilm is a community of microbes attached to a surface and wrapped in a protective matrix; it can grow on implants inside the body and on food and food-processing equipment, and the microbes in it survive antibiotics far better than free-floating ones.

  • ✓ 1. Biofilms form on medical implants and other devices in the body and cause serious chronic infections that are hard to clear.
  • ✓ 2. Food and food-processing surfaces give biofilms nutrients to grow on, which makes them a food-safety problem.
  • ✓ 3. The biofilm lifestyle makes bacteria more resistant to antibiotics and to the body's immune defences.

Remember · Biofilm = microbes stuck to a surface in a protective matrix. Found on implants and food surfaces; tolerates antibiotics, so infections turn chronic.

Sources

  • NIH National Library of Medicine (PMC), The Role of Bacterial Biofilm in Antibiotic Resistance and Food Contamination ↗ “Biofilm is a critical problem in the medical sector since it is formed on medical implants within human tissue and involved in a multitude of serious chronic infections. … Food and food processing surface become an ideal environment for biofilm formation where there are sufficient nutrients for microbial growth and attachment. … the biofilm phenotype that these bacteria adapt during device-associated infection facilitates increased resistance to antibiotics and host immune defenses”

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2022, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2022 · Q38

Medium

प्रजैविकों (प्रोबायोटिक्स) के संदर्भ में निम्नलिखित कथनों पर विचार कीजिए :

  1. 1.प्रजैविक, जीवाणु और यीस्ट दोनों के बने होते हैं ।
  2. 2.प्रजैविकों में जीव, खाए जाने वाले खाद्य में होते हैं किन्तु वे नैसर्गिक रूप से हमारी आहार-नली में नहीं पाए जाते ।
  3. 3.प्रजैविक दुग्ध शर्कराओं के पाचन में सहायक हैं ।

उपर्युक्त कथनों में कौन-सा/से सही है/हैं ?

Read this question in English

Consider the following statements in respect of probiotics:

1. Probiotics are made of both bacteria and yeast.

2. The organisms in probiotics are found in foods we ingest but they do not naturally occur in our gut.

3. Probiotics help in the digestion of milk sugars.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only · (b) 2 only · (c) 1 and 3 · (d) 2 and 3

उत्तर और व्याख्या · explanation in English

Answer: (c) 1 और 3

Statements 1 and 3 are correct. Probiotics are live microbes, mostly bacteria but also some yeasts, and certain probiotic bacteria help digest lactose, the sugar in milk. Statement 2 is wrong because many probiotic organisms are the same as or similar to microbes that already live naturally in our body.

  • ✓ 1. Most probiotics are bacteria (Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium are the commonest), but some are yeasts such as Saccharomyces boulardii.
  • ✗ 2. Many probiotic microbes are the same as or similar to those that naturally live in our bodies. NCERT too notes that lactic acid bacteria in our stomach help check disease-causing microbes.
  • ✓ 3. Probiotic bacteria that carry the enzyme beta-galactosidase help break down lactose. Yogurt cultures such as L. bulgaricus and S. thermophilus give a similar benefit to people who cannot digest milk sugar well.

Remember · Probiotics: live microbes, mostly bacteria (Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium) plus some yeasts; they resemble our natural gut flora and can ease lactose digestion.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 12 Biology, Ch 8 (practise this chapter)

Sources

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2022, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2022 · Q39

X-Ray · Core #25 Medium

कोविड-19 विश्वमहामारी को रोकने के लिए बनाई जा रही वैक्सीनों के प्रसंग में, निम्नलिखित कथनों पर विचार कीजिए :

  1. 1.भारतीय सीरम संस्थान ने mRNA प्लेटफॉर्म का प्रयोग कर कोविशील्ड नामक कोविड-19 वैक्सीन निर्मित की ।
  2. 2.स्पुतनिक V वैक्सीन रोगवाहक (वेक्टर) आधारित प्लेटफॉर्म का प्रयोग कर बनाई गई है ।
  3. 3.कोवैक्सीन एक निष्कृत रोगजनक आधारित वैक्सीन है ।

उपर्युक्त कथनों में कौन-से सही हैं ?

Read this question in English

In the context of vaccines manufactured to prevent COVID-19 pandemic, consider the following statements:

1. The Serum Institute of India produced COVID-19 vaccine named Covishield using mRNA platform.

2. Sputnik V vaccine is manufactured using vector based platform.

3. COVAXIN is an inactivated pathogen based vaccine.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only · (b) 2 and 3 only · (c) 1 and 3 only · (d) 1, 2 and 3

उत्तर और व्याख्या · explanation in English

Answer: (b) केवल 2 और 3

Statements 2 and 3 are correct. Sputnik V is a vector vaccine and COVAXIN is a whole-virus inactivated vaccine. Statement 1 is wrong because Covishield, made by the Serum Institute of India, is a viral-vector vaccine (adenovirus carrier), not an mRNA vaccine.

  • ✗ 1. Covishield is the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine produced in India by the Serum Institute. It uses a weakened chimpanzee adenovirus as a carrier, so it is a viral-vector vaccine. No mRNA is involved.
  • ✓ 2. Sputnik V (Gam-COVID-Vac) from Russia's Gamaleya Institute is a combined vector vaccine given in two components.
  • ✓ 3. COVAXIN by Bharat Biotech, developed with ICMR-NIV, uses a whole-virion inactivated Vero-cell platform: dead virus that cannot infect but still trains the immune system.

Remember · Covishield and Sputnik V: viral-vector vaccines. COVAXIN: inactivated whole virus. ZyCoV-D: DNA. mRNA is the Pfizer and Moderna type.

Sources

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2022, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2022 · Q97

Easy

निम्नलिखित कथनों में कौन-सा एक, मानव शरीर में B कोशिकाओं और T कोशिकाओं की भूमिका का सर्वोत्तम वर्णन है ?

Read this question in English

Which one of the following statements best describes the role of B cells and T cells in the human body?

(a) They protect the body from environmental allergens. · (b) They alleviate the body's pain and inflammation. · (c) They act as immunosuppressants in the body. · (d) They protect the body from the diseases caused by pathogens.

उत्तर और व्याख्या · explanation in English

Answer: (d) वे शरीर को रोगजनकों द्वारा होने वाले रोगों से बचाती हैं ।

B cells and T cells are the two lymphocytes that run the body's specific immune response, so they protect us from diseases caused by pathogens (disease-causing microbes). B cells make antibodies; T cells help B cells make them.

  • ✓ (d) NCERT: immune responses are carried out by B-lymphocytes and T-lymphocytes. B cells produce antibodies against pathogens, and T cells help B cells produce them.
  • ✗ (a) An allergy is an exaggerated immune response to harmless substances in the environment such as pollen or mites. That reaction is the problem, not the protection.
  • ✗ (c) Immunosuppressants are drugs that damp down the immune system. B and T cells are what carry out the immune response.

Remember · B cells make antibodies against pathogens; T cells help B cells do so. Together they carry out the body's immune response, with memory of the first encounter.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 12 Biology, Ch 7 (practise this chapter) · Class 12 Biology, Ch 7 (practise this chapter) · Class 12 Biology, Ch 7 (practise this chapter)

Sources

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2022, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

The Syllabus X-Ray of this topic

1 of its 5 sub-topics is Core

1 Core · 2 High · 0 Steady · 2 Rare

  • Core #25Diseases, vaccines & immunity · 8 questions
  • HighHuman body, nutrition & genetics basics · 4 questions
  • HighMicrobes, viruses & antimicrobial resistance · 3 questions

The X-Ray ranks all 928 sub-topics of the UPSC syllabus by what UPSC has asked since 2016. The 60 Prelims Core sub-topics are behind 51% of Prelims questions.

See the whole X-Ray →

The same topic in Mains

Read it in NCERT

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