Scientists Discover 'Olo': A New Colour Beyond Human Vision

Scientists have claimed to found a new colour that has not been seen by humans before. The researchers are calling the new colour 'olo', according to the findings published in Science Advances on Friday (Apr 18). Only five people have seen the colour, describing it as something like a peacock blue or teal, with the level of saturation in the new colour being "off-the-charts'.

Researchers assert that the colour can only be experienced through laser manipulation of the retina. To perceive it, the researchers had laser pulses fired into their eyes, which pushed their perception beyond its natural limits, according to a report in The Guardian.

"We predicted from the beginning that it would look like an unprecedented colour signal but we didn't know what the brain would do with it. It was jaw-dropping. It's incredibly saturated," said Ren Ng, an electrical engineer at the University of California, Berkeley.

An image of a turquoise square has been shared by the researchers to provide a sense of the colour. Scientists claim the image still does not fully represent the richness of the colour they actually experienced.

"There is no way to convey that colour in an article or on a monitor. The whole point is that this is not the colour we see, it's just not. The colour we see is a version of it, but it absolutely pales by comparison with the experience of olo," said Austin Roorda, a vision scientist associated with the team.

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Human eyes and colours

The human eye can distinguish millions of shades of colour when light falls on colour-sensitive cells called cones in the retina. There are three types of cones, which are sensitive to long (L), medium (M) and short (S) wavelengths of light.

While red light stimulates L cones and blue light triggers S cones, no natural light is able to stimulate the M cones that are present in the middle of the retina. 

The research team scanned volunteers' retinas to pinpoint the M cones. Then a laser was used to scan the retina and fire a flash of light into the M cone.

Quizzed if human beings would be able to see the colour in everyday life, researchers gave a firm no.

"We're not going to see olo on any smartphone displays or any TVs anytime soon. And this is very, very far beyond VR headset technology.”

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