Sun Apr 20 10:14:47 UTC 2025: ## Scientists Claim to Have Discovered a New Color, “Olo,” Invisible to the Naked Eye
**Berkeley, CA –** A team of researchers claim to have discovered a previously unknown color, which they’ve named “olo,” using laser technology to manipulate the human retina. The findings, published in *Science Advances*, describe a color described by the five individuals who experienced it as a highly saturated peacock blue or teal, far exceeding the richness of any naturally perceived color.
The researchers achieved this by precisely targeting the M cones in the retina with laser pulses. Unlike other colors, which stimulate combinations of L, M, and S cones, olo seems to stimulate the M cones in a way not possible through natural light. Professor Ren Ng, an electrical engineer at the University of California, Berkeley, stated that the result was “jaw-dropping” due to the color’s unprecedented saturation.
While the researchers have shared an image of a turquoise square to offer a glimpse of olo, they emphasize that the image fails to capture the true vibrancy of the experience. Vision scientist Austin Roorda explained, “There is no way to convey that colour in an article or on a monitor…The colour we see is a version of it, but it absolutely pales by comparison.”
The discovery doesn’t mean we’ll be seeing olo on our screens anytime soon. The researchers confirmed that the technology used is far beyond the capabilities of current display technologies like smartphones, TVs, or even VR headsets. The experience of olo, therefore, remains unique to the experimental setup and the small number of individuals who have participated in the study.
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