Researchers stimulated the eye’s cone cells using lasers, allowing participants to perceive a colour—‘olo’—that doesn’t occur naturally in human vision.
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A laser to the eye, a flash of something never seen before, and one simple name: olo
Scientists in the US say they’ve managed to do something no one thought possible—see a colour that doesn’t exist in the natural world. And if that sounds like science fiction, well… it’s not far off.
It all happened thanks to a strange and precise experiment involving laser beams aimed directly into people’s eyes, triggering cone cells in a way that never happens in nature. The result? A vibrant blue-green shade the researchers have dubbed “olo”—a colour that, they say, exists beyond anything the average eye can perceive on its own.
What is the colour ‘Olo’ and why humans can’t see it naturally
Scientists used laser beams to isolate one type of cone cell in the eye
Here’s how it worked. The researchers, from UC Berkeley and the University of Washington, used a custom-built device—called Oz—to shine lasers into a single eye of each participant. This device is packed with mirrors, lasers, and optical tech designed to isolate one type of cone cell, specifically the M cone, which is sensitive to green light.
Normally, when light enters your eye, it activates several types of cone cells at once. But in this experiment, the laser was so precise that it triggered just one cone type at a time. That’s something the human brain simply isn’t used to, which is why the result was so unusual.
“It was more saturated than any colour you can see in the real world,” said co-author Professor Ren Ng, one of five participants in the study and a researcher at the University of California.
To describe the effect, he offered a simple analogy: “Let’s say you’ve only ever seen baby pinks your entire life. One day, someone walks in wearing the boldest, most intense version of that pink—and tells you it’s a brand new colour. That’s what olo felt like.”
Is ‘Olo’ truly a new colour? Why some experts remain skeptical
Some experts say it’s all about how we interpret what we see
As exciting as the discovery sounds, not everyone is convinced that this qualifies as a truly new colour.
Professor John Barbur, a vision scientist from City St George’s, University of London, praised the precision of the research but was cautious about the bold claims.
“It’s a technological feat,” he said, “but whether it’s a new colour is up for debate.”
He explained that changes in how the eye’s cone cells respond—especially when one type is isolated—can lead to unusual visual effects. That doesn’t necessarily mean new colours are being created, but rather that our brains are seeing familiar colours in unfamiliar ways.
Still, the participants in the study were all able to adjust a colour dial until it matched what they had seen during the laser stimulation—and none of the matches were colours that exist in standard colour ranges.
Can the discovery of ‘Olo’ lead to new treatments for colour blindness?
Researchers say it could pave the way for new vision tech
While olo itself may be hard to reproduce outside a lab, the team behind the study say this research could have very real-world applications. Most notably, in helping people with colour vision deficiencies—or colour blindness—see more clearly by understanding how colour is processed at the cellular level.
“We’re still studying what this means,” said Prof Ng. “But it opens a door to something new—not just in how we see colour, but how we might help others see it better.”
So, can you expect to start seeing olo on paint charts or fashion runways any time soon? Probably not. It only exists with the help of precise laser stimulation, and it’s currently impossible to reproduce it on a screen or in physical form.
But for a few researchers in a darkened lab, it’s now a colour they’ll never forget—even if they never see it again.
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