Senior Scientist Neda Ghosifam looks at the newly separated cells through a microscope at the lab on Austin Community College Highland campus on July 19, 2023.
Berkley, California – In a breakthrough that’s equal parts science fiction and high-tech vision science, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have discovered a new color — one that can only be seen when your eye is hit by a laser.
Dubbed “olo,” the hue is described as a deep, hyper-saturated blue-green that defies replication in everyday life. “It’s the most intense teal you can see in the world,” said Ren Ng, a Berkeley professor of electrical engineering and computer science. The discovery was detailed in the journal Science Advances on April 18.
So what makes this color so special — and so elusive?
The human eye sees color through three types of cone cells: S (blue), M (green), and L (red). Normally, any signal to an M cone (which senses green) also stimulates neighboring L and S cones. But the Berkeley team used targeted lasers to isolate the M cones, triggering a color signal never experienced under natural conditions. That signal, the team says, is olo.
Five participants saw the color, including researchers themselves and scientists from the University of Washington who were unaware of the study’s aim. The laser system precisely stimulated up to 1,000 photoreceptors in the eye, pushing human vision beyond its usual biological limits. When asked to match olo using adjustable colors, participants came closest with a rich teal — but none could recreate it exactly.
The implications could stretch beyond color theory. The researchers believe the technology may help those with color-blindness by unlocking new ways to stimulate perception, and may aid the study of diseases that affect the retina and color sensitivity. “This will definitely lead to lots of opportunities for follow-up research,” said graduate researcher Hannah Doyle.
Still, not everyone agrees olo qualifies as a completely “new” color. Vision scientist John Barbur from City St George’s, University of London, suggested the phenomenon may simply be a heightened saturation of green visible only under unusual optical conditions.
And don’t expect olo crayons or clothing dyes anytime soon. The color can’t be printed, painted, or seen outside of a laser setup — though researchers are eyeing possibilities like virtual reality headsets. “Olo is a starting point, not an ending point,” Ng said. “We want to perfect it further — cell by cell.”
