Recently, a team of scientists discovered a new color that no one has ever seen before. The experiment includes researchers in the US who had laser pulses fired into their eyes. By doing so, it stimulates specific cells in the retina and participants have claimed to witness a new color which scientists are calling “olo”. Scientists have stated that going further with the experiment will result in color blindness. Professor Ng from the University of California, who was one of the five people to join in on the experiment, states that the color “is more saturated than any color you can see in the real world”. According to the research paper, the participants looked into a device called the Oz, which consists of mirrors, lasers, and optical devices.

The retina is a light-sensitive layer of tissue at the back of the eye responsible for receiving and processing visual information and the retina contains cone cells which are responsible for perceiving color. There are three types of cone cells in the eye: S, L, M and each one is sensitive to different wavelengths of red, blue, and green. Any light that stimulates an M cone cell must also stimulate L and S since they overlap. However, the study only stimulated the M cones, which means the color “olo” can only be seen with stimulation and not in the real world.

Although some experts say that the color is a matter of interpretation. Professor Ng admitted that although “olo” is very difficult to see, the team is working towards studying the findings to see what this could mean for color-blind people who find it difficult to distinguish between colors.
Works Cited
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyq0n3em41o