Read the passage and answer the question given below by selecting the correct option:
A recent study by researchers from Basel University and Munich Technical University challenges prior beliefs about the influence of different light colours on the human body’s internal clock and sleep-wake rhythm. Unlike a previous study conducted on mice, this one suggests,
that light colour may be less critical for the internal clock than originally thought.
Vision involves a complex process of perceiving various light wavelengths as colours and brightness in the brain. Photoreceptors in the retina convert light into electrical impulses, transmitted to ganglion cells in the retina and to the visual cortex in the brain. Specialised ganglion cells play a significant role in the internal clock, being sensitive to short-wavelength light at around 490 nanometers, perceived as blue. When activated by short-wavelength light, these cells signal “it’s daytime” to the internal clock.
To explore the influence of light colour on the internal clock, the researchers exposed 16 healthy volunteers to blueish or yellowish light stimuli for one hour in late evening with a white light stimulus as a control condition. The light stimuli were designed to selectively activate the colour-sensitive cones in the retina, while maintaining consistent stimulation of the light-sensitive ganglion cells in all conditions. This allowed the researchers to directly check effects of light on the respective cone stimulation and, the colour of the light.
Contrary to the findings in mice, the study suggests that the colour of light, as encoded by the cones, may not significantly influence the human internal clock and sleep-wake rhythm. The current research contradicts the earlier finding that yellowish light had a stronger influence on the internal clock than blueish light. The results, published in “Nature Human Behaviour”, imply that while light intensity and exposure duration remain crucial factors, the colour of light may not play as significant a role in influencing sleep and circadian rhythms as previously believed.
What does the recent study by researchers from the University of Basel and the Technical University of Munich challenge?
- Sleep-wake rhythms in mice
- The impact of light colour on the internal clock
- Vision complexity in humans
- The effect of sleep-wake cycle
The Correct Option is B
Approach Solution - 1
A recent study conducted by researchers from Basel University and Munich Technical University challenges the previous understanding of the impact of light colour on the internal clock. The study explored the effect of different light colours on the internal clock and sleep-wake rhythm but concluded that, unlike past studies on mice, the colour of light might be less significant in influencing these factors in humans. This research suggests that the internal clock and sleep-wake rhythms may not be strongly affected by light colour, indicating a shift from prior beliefs where certain colours, like yellowish light, were considered to have a stronger influence than blueish light. As a result, the study contradicts earlier animal research and implies that light intensity and duration remain more critical factors than colour in affecting circadian rhythms.
Therefore, the correct answer is: The impact of light colour on the internal clock.
Approach Solution -2
The study challenges the belief that light colour significantly impacts the internal clock and sleep-wake rhythm.
Context: The study in question examines the widely held belief that the colour of light plays a crucial role in regulating the body’s internal clock, also known as the circadian rhythm, and sleep-wake cycles. Many have assumed that different colours of light, particularly blue light, have significant effects on our sleep patterns.
Challenging the Existing Belief: Contrary to popular assumptions, the study suggests that light colour may not have as significant an effect on the internal clock as previously believed. The findings challenge the conventional understanding of how light interacts with our sleep-wake rhythm, prompting further investigation into other potential factors at play.
Implications of the Findings: If light colour does not significantly impact the circadian rhythm, other environmental or physiological factors may be more influential in regulating our sleep patterns. This could open new avenues for research on improving sleep quality through methods other than light exposure.
Final Thought: The study’s findings encourage a re-examination of current sleep research, emphasizing the need for a broader understanding of the complex mechanisms that govern our internal clocks and sleep-wake cycles.
What is the role of specialized ganglion cells in the internal clock, according to the passage?
- Transmitting electrical impulses to the visual cortex
- Converting light into electrical impulses
- Getting destabilized by the sleep-wake rhythms
- Reacting strongly to short-wavelength light
The Correct Option is D
Approach Solution - 1
The passage describes the role of specialized ganglion cells in the human internal clock. These cells, located in the retina, are sensitive to short-wavelength light, specifically around 490 nanometers, which is perceived as blue light. When exposed to this wavelength, these ganglion cells contribute to signaling the internal clock that it is daytime.
Therefore, the correct role of specialized ganglion cells according to the passage is: Reacting strongly to short-wavelength light.
Approach Solution -2
Specialised ganglion cells react to short-wavelength light (around 490 nm, perceived as blue), which signals “daytime” to the internal clock.
Context: Specialized ganglion cells in the retina are sensitive to short-wavelength light, particularly light around 490 nm, which is perceived as blue. This sensitivity plays a critical role in regulating the body’s internal clock, or circadian rhythm, signaling when it is "daytime."
Role of Ganglion Cells: These ganglion cells contain a photopigment called melanopsin, which is highly responsive to blue light. When exposed to light of this wavelength, the ganglion cells send signals to the brain, informing it that it is daytime and helping to synchronize the internal clock with the external environment.
Impact on the Internal Clock: The activation of these ganglion cells by short-wavelength light is crucial for maintaining the body’s circadian rhythm, which governs sleep-wake cycles and other biological processes. Exposure to blue light during the day helps keep the internal clock aligned with the natural day-night cycle.
Final Thought: The discovery of how ganglion cells react to short-wavelength light emphasizes the importance of light exposure in regulating our internal clocks. This understanding can help inform strategies to improve sleep quality and manage circadian rhythms, especially in the modern era of artificial lighting.
Why were the light stimuli designed to differentially activate colour-sensitive cones in the retina?
- To study the circadian rhythms
- To maintain consistent stimulation of ganglion cells
- To check the effect of light on the cone stimulation
- To explore vision complexity
The Correct Option is C
Approach Solution - 1
The recent study aimed to assess the impact of different light colours on cone stimulation in the retina. The researchers designed light stimuli to selectively activate the colour-sensitive cones while maintaining consistent stimulation of light-sensitive ganglion cells, allowing them to observe the direct effects of light on cone stimulation.
The correct answer is: To check the effect of light on the cone stimulation. This design was integral to understanding how different wavelengths of light interact with retinal cones and assessing whether these interactions affect circadian rhythms or the perception of light.
Approach Solution -2
The light stimuli were designed to activate cones and check the effect of light on cone stimulation while maintaining consistent ganglion cell activity.
Context: The study was designed to investigate how light stimuli affect cone stimulation in the retina while ensuring that ganglion cell activity remains constant. The aim was to understand the specific role of cones in response to light stimuli, separate from the effects on ganglion cells.
Activation of Cones: Cones are specialized photoreceptor cells in the retina responsible for color vision and visual acuity. By using light stimuli designed to specifically activate these cones, researchers were able to isolate the effects of light on cone function without interference from ganglion cell activity.
Maintaining Consistent Ganglion Cell Activity: Ganglion cells play a crucial role in transmitting visual information from the retina to the brain. In this study, the researchers carefully controlled light exposure to ensure that ganglion cell activity remained consistent, allowing them to focus solely on the cones' response to the stimuli.
Final Thought: This method of isolating cone stimulation while controlling ganglion cell activity helps provide clearer insights into the complex processes of visual perception and how different light stimuli affect various retinal cells.
What did the prior study on mice suggest about the impact of colour of light on the human internal clock and sleep-wake rhythm?
- The colour of light has a significant impact on both.
- The colour of light is not critical for sleep-wake rhythm.
- It has no influence on sleep patterns.
- It is mainly dependent on vision complexity.
The Correct Option is A
Approach Solution - 1
The prior study conducted on mice suggested that the colour of light has a significant impact on both the human internal clock and sleep-wake rhythm. This assumption was based on the belief that different light colours influence these aspects by affecting specific photoreceptors. However, the comprehension passage highlights a recent study that challenges this notion. According to the new research, contrary to the findings in mice, the colour of light may not significantly influence the human internal clock and sleep-wake rhythm. Therefore, while light still affects the internal clock, the role of its colour is much less poignant than initially believed based on earlier studies conducted on mice.
Thus, the correct answer reflecting the initial findings from the study on mice is: The colour of light has a significant impact on both.
Approach Solution -2
The prior study on mice suggested that the colour of light significantly impacts the internal clock and sleep-wake rhythm.
Context: The previous research conducted on mice indicated that the colour of light plays a crucial role in regulating the internal clock, also known as the circadian rhythm, and the sleep-wake cycles. The study found that different light colours could influence the timing and quality of sleep.
Impact of Light Colour: The study suggested that exposure to specific colours of light, particularly blue light, could have a significant effect on the body’s internal clock. Blue light has been shown to promote alertness and regulate the sleep-wake cycle by influencing the production of melatonin, a hormone responsible for sleep.
Relevance to Sleep-Wake Rhythm: By affecting the internal clock, the colour of light can help align the sleep-wake rhythm with the natural day-night cycle. This has important implications for improving sleep quality and managing sleep disorders, particularly in environments with artificial lighting.
Final Thought: The findings from the prior study on mice underscore the potential significance of light colour in regulating circadian rhythms and improving sleep patterns. These results may lead to new strategies for optimizing light exposure to enhance sleep quality in humans.
What is the key implication of the research study’s results for our understanding of sleep and circadian rhythms?
- Colour of light is the sole determinant of sleep and circadian rhythms.
- Light intensity plays a crucial role in sleep and circadian rhythms.
- Light intensity and exposure duration are the secondary factors.
- Light colour may not play as significant a role as previously believed.
The Correct Option is D
Approach Solution - 1
The passage describes a recent study that challenges prior beliefs about the influence of different light colours on the human body’s internal clock and sleep-wake rhythm. Unlike earlier findings from a study conducted on mice, which suggested that certain light colours, such as yellowish light, had a strong influence on the internal clock, the current research, involving human subjects, found no significant impact of light colour on the internal clock and sleep-wake rhythm. The study indicates that the specialised ganglion cells in the retina are sensitive to short-wavelength light (blue light) and communicate the time of day to the internal clock. However, the study's results published in “Nature Human Behaviour” imply that while factors like light intensity and exposure duration are critical, the colour of light may not be as influential as once thought.
Therefore, the key implication of the research study’s results is that light colour may not play as significant a role as previously believed. This finding is crucial in understanding the complexities of sleep and circadian rhythms.
Approach Solution -2
The study implies that light colour may not significantly impact sleep and circadian rhythms, shifting the focus to light intensity and exposure duration.
Context: Contrary to the common belief that light colour plays a major role in regulating sleep and circadian rhythms, the study suggests that light colour may not have as significant an impact as previously thought. Instead, the study shifts the focus to other factors like light intensity and exposure duration.
Impact of Light Intensity: The study highlights that the intensity of light, rather than its colour, might be a more critical factor in regulating sleep patterns. Brighter light could have a stronger effect on alertness and the suppression of melatonin, influencing the sleep-wake cycle.
Exposure Duration: In addition to intensity, the duration of light exposure plays an essential role in affecting the internal clock. Longer periods of light exposure, especially during the night, may disrupt sleep and circadian rhythms, while proper timing and shorter exposure may help synchronize the body's internal clock.
Final Thought: The study's findings suggest that we should reconsider the emphasis placed on light colour and focus more on managing light intensity and exposure duration to improve sleep quality and regulate circadian rhythms effectively.
Find a word from the passage that is similar in meaning to CATALYST.
- Stimuli
- Complex
- Encoded
- Internal
The Correct Option is A
Approach Solution - 1
The task is to identify a word from the given passage that is synonymous with "catalyst." In context, "catalyst" refers to something that causes or accelerates a reaction or change. The passage describes an experiment involving "light stimuli" used to test the influence on the internal clock. Here, "stimuli" act as the agents causing change in the internal clock's reaction.
Therefore, the word "stimuli" in the context of the passage aligns with the meaning of "catalyst."
Thus, the correct answer is: Stimuli.
Approach Solution -2
The word “stimuli” refers to something that triggers or initiates a response, similar in meaning to “catalyst.”
Context: The term "stimuli" refers to any factor or event that triggers a physiological or psychological response. It plays a critical role in initiating reactions in the body, similar to how a "catalyst" accelerates or facilitates a chemical reaction.
Meaning of Stimuli: Stimuli can be anything from light, sound, temperature, or even emotional triggers that cause a response in an organism. For example, the presence of light can stimulate the human eye, leading to visual perception.
Similarities with Catalyst: Just as a catalyst speeds up a chemical reaction without being consumed, a stimuli triggers a response or reaction without being permanently changed by it. Both words imply the initiation of a process or reaction.
Final Thought: The word “stimuli” closely aligns with “catalyst” in its meaning, as both involve triggering or initiating a response or reaction, whether in biological systems or chemical processes.
Top Questions on Reading Comprehension
- Shown below are letters ‘e’ taken from four popular logos, arranged in a sequence. Which of the options is the correct sequence?
- UCEED - 2026
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- Shown below are four options, each showing consecutive frames representing the movement of a pendulum of an old-style wall clock for an animation movie. Which is the correct option?
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- Acrucial moderating factor in how people experience comparisons is self-esteem. Individuals with high self-esteem are more likely to interpret upward comparison as informative rather than threatening. They are more resilient in the face of others’ success and more likely to believe they can reach their own goals. In contrast, people with low self-esteem are more prone to interpret comparison as judgment, reinforcing negative self-views and triggering feelings of inadequacy.
This dynamic creates a self-reinforcing loop. People with high self-esteem are less vulnerable to upward comparison, which intensifies those doubts. Those with a secure sense of self are more likely to use comparison as a learning tool. The same external stimulus—a colleague’s achievements, a friend’s popularity—can have radically different effects depending on internal stability.
Self-esteem also influences how people choose their comparison targets. Research has found that individuals often engage in “selective comparison,” seeking out those who confirm their existing beliefs about themselves. This can become a subtle form of self-sabotage. Someone who feels unworthy may subconsciously seek out targets that reinforce that sense, perpetuating a narrative of inferiority. One of the most promising antidotes to social comparison is temporal comparison—evaluating oneself not against others, but against one’s own past. This method has been shown to increase motivation and satisfaction, especially when individuals can see concrete progress. Temporal comparison activates the same reward circuits as social comparison but avoids the threat systems associated with social ranking. It also reinforces agency: individuals focus on what they can control and improve rather than what others control. In therapeutic and coaching settings, temporal comparison is used to help clients build self-efficacy and track growth over time.
Moreover, people who focus on self-improvement rather than social dominance are less likely to fall into cycles of envy or self-pity. They can still use others as inspiration, but they do so without attaching their self-worth to the outcome. This is not to say they never compare—but that they focus on learning, rather than judgment. The most skilful approach to comparison may lie in eliminating it, but in reframing it as feedback. When we interpret comparison as information rather than a verdict, we can ask, “What can I learn from this?” This shift turns comparison into a growth tool. Teachers mentor their students, not as rivals. Psychologists emphasize that the key variable here is mindset.
A fixed mindset sees comparison as a threat. If someone else is better, it means we are worse. A growth mindset sees comparison as a map. If someone else has reached a certain level, it means the path exists. This reframing is not just a cognitive trick. It changes the emotional tone of comparison, making it more likely to inspire than to wound. Reframing also requires emotional regulation—the ability to notice an initial pang of envy or shame without reacting impulsively. With practice, individuals can learn to pause, reflect, and reinterpret their emotional responses. Over time, this builds resilience and self-trust, allowing comparison to become a learning tool rather than a cage.- XAT - 2026
- Verbal and Logical Ability
- Reading Comprehension
When people who are talking don’t share the same culture, knowledge, values, and assumptions, mutual understanding can be especially difficult. Such understanding is possible through the negotiation of meaning. To negotiate meaning with someone, you have to become aware of and respect both the differences in your backgrounds and when these differences are important. You need enough diversity of cultural and personal experience to be aware that divergent world views exist and what they might be like. You also need the flexibility in world view, and a generous tolerance for mistakes, as well as a talent for finding the right metaphor to communicate the relevant parts of unshared experiences or to highlight the shared experiences while demphasizing the others. Metaphorical imagination is a crucial skill in creating rapport and in communicating the nature of unshared experience. This skill consists, in large measure, of the ability to bend your world view and adjust the way you categorize your experiences. Problems of mutual understanding are not exotic; they arise in all extended conversations where understanding is important.
When it really counts, meaning is almost never communicated according to the CONDUIT metaphor, that is, where one person transmits a fixed, clear proposition to another by means of expressions in a common language, where both parties have all the relevant common knowledge, assumptions, values, etc. When the chips are down, meaning is negotiated: you slowly figure out what you have in common, what it is safe to talk about, how you can communicate unshared experience or create a shared vision. With enough flexibility in bending your world view and with luck and charity, you may achieve some mutual understanding.
Communication theories based on the CONDUIT metaphor turn from the pathetic to the evil when they are applied indiscriminately on a large scale, say, in government surveillance or computerized files. There, what is most crucial for real understanding is almost never included, and it is assumed that the words in the file have meaning in themselves—disembodied, objective, understandable meaning. When a society lives by the CONDUITmetaphor on a large scale, misunderstanding, persecution, and much worse are the likely products.- XAT - 2026
- Verbal and Logical Ability
- Reading Comprehension
Later, I realized that reviewing the history of nuclear physics served another purpose as well: It gave the lie to the naive belief that the physicists could have come together when nuclear fission was discovered (in Nazi Germany!) and agreed to keep the discovery a secret, thereby sparing humanity such a burden. No. Given the development of nuclear physics up to 1938, development that physicists throughout the world pursued in all innocence of any intention of finding the engine of a new weapon of mass destruction—only one of them, the remarkable Hungarian physicist Leo Szilard, took that possibility seriously—the discovery of nuclear fission was inevitable. To stop it, you would have had to stop physics. If German scientists hadn’t made the discovery when they did, French, American, Russian, Italian, or Danish scientists would have done so, almost certainly within days or weeks. They were all working at the same cutting edge, trying to understand the strange results of a simple experiment bombarding uranium with neutrons. Here was no Faustian bargain, as movie directors and other naifs still find it intellectually challenging to imagine. Here was no evil machinery that the noble scientists might hide from the problems and the generals. To the contrary, there was a high insight into how the world works, an energetic reaction, older than the earth, that science had finally devised the instruments and arrangements to coart forth. “Make it seem inevitable,” Louis Pasteur used to advise his students when they prepared to write up their discoveries. But it was. To wish that it might have been ignored or suppressed is barbarous. “Knowledge,” Niels Bohr once noted, “is itself the basis for civilization.” You cannot have the one without the other; the one depends upon the other. Nor can you have only benevolent knowledge; the scientific method doesn’t filter for benevolence. Knowledge has consequences, not always intended, not always comfortable, but always welcome. The earth revolves around the sun, not the sun around the earth. “It is a profound and necessary truth,” Robert Oppenheimer would say, “that the deep things in science are not found because they are useful; they are found because it was possible to find them.”
...Bohr proposed once that the goal of science is not universal truth. Rather, he argued, the modest but relentless goal of science is “the gradual removal of prejudices.” The discovery that the earth revolves around the sun has gradually removed the prejudice that the earth is the center of the universe. The discovery of microbes is gradually removing the prejudice that disease is a punishment from God. The discovery of evolution is gradually removing the prejudice that Homo sapiens is a separate and special creation.- XAT - 2026
- Verbal and Logical Ability
- Reading Comprehension
Questions Asked in CUET exam
- Find the ratio of de-Broglie wavelengths of deuteron having energy E and \(\alpha\)-particle having energy 2E :
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- Had he ________ the importance of the meeting, he would have made sure to attend.
Rearrange the following parts to form a meaningful and grammatically correct sentence:
P. a healthy diet and regular exercise
Q. are important habits
R. that help maintain good physical and mental health
S. especially in today's busy world- CUET (UG) - 2025
- Sentence Arrangement
- The following solutions were prepared by dissolving 1 g of solute in 1 L of the solution. Arrange the following solutions in decreasing order of their molarity: (A) Glucose (molar mass = 180 g mol$^{-1}$)
(B) NaOH (molar mass = 40 g mol$^{-1}$)
(C) NaCl (molar mass = 58.5 g mol$^{-1}$)
(D) KCl (molar mass = 7(4)5 g mol$^{-1}$)
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- Which one of the following guides the entry of the pollen tube into the embryo sac?
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