Scientists Claim to Discover New Colour Never Seen Before by Humans
In what researchers are calling a breakthrough in visual science, a team of scientists from the United States has reported the discovery of a colour no human has ever seen before — a highly saturated blue-green hue now referred to as “olo”.
The extraordinary claim follows a study published in the prestigious journal Science Advances, where five participants, including co-author Professor Ren Ng from the University of California, underwent a unique visual experiment involving laser pulses directed into their eyes.
Using a sophisticated optical device known as “Oz”, scientists stimulated specific retinal cone cells in isolation — an effect not possible under normal viewing conditions. The device uses a system of mirrors, lasers, and optical technology to precisely control the stimulation of the eye’s photoreceptors.
“Imagine living your whole life seeing only soft shades of pink,” explained Prof Ng in an interview with BBC Radio 4. “Then suddenly, you see the most intense pink imaginable — something so vivid, it feels entirely new. That’s what olo was like. It’s more saturated than any colour we can normally perceive.”
The Science Behind Olo
The human retina contains three types of cone cells — S, M, and L — each responsive to different parts of the light spectrum (blue, green, and red respectively). In typical vision, light stimulates a mix of these cones, allowing us to perceive a range of colours. However, this overlap also means that certain pure signals are impossible to see naturally.
In this experiment, researchers managed to stimulate only the M (green-sensitive) cones without affecting neighbouring S or L cones. This unnatural isolation created a signal to the brain that doesn’t occur in ordinary vision, resulting in the perception of a previously unseen colour.
To verify their experience, participants were asked to adjust a colour dial until it matched the hue they saw — all five individuals consistently chose the same blue-green shade, now dubbed “olo”.
A New Frontier or Just a Perceptual Trick?
Not everyone is convinced. Professor John Barbur, a vision expert from City St George’s, University of London, cautioned that while the research is “technologically impressive,” the claim of a new colour is debatable.
He argued that variations in how our cone cells respond to light can shift how we perceive colours, making the experience of “oloo” a matter of subjective interpretation rather than an objective new discovery.
Still, the findings have opened up fresh possibilities in vision science. Prof Ng and his team are optimistic about how this research might inform treatments for colour blindness — a condition that affects millions of people worldwide.
“We’re still exploring what this could mean long-term,” said Prof Ng. “But if we can learn how to manipulate colour perception, even in small ways, it could transform how we approach colour vision deficiencies.”
Whether olo truly qualifies as a “new colour” or a clever neural illusion, one thing is clear — human perception is far from fully understood, and our vision of the world may still hold more secrets than we think.
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Scientists Claim to Discover New Colour Never Seen Before by Humans