When listing off colours, does the word “olo” pop into your head? I doubt it. We grew up with red, blue, yellow, and every shade in between. But what if you were told there is a colour you have never seen before, and likely never will outside of a lab? That is exactly what scientists at UC Berkeley have introduced to the world: a completely new colour called “olo”. It does not fit into our existing rainbow. It is not only rare but impossible to see under normal conditions. But thanks to some clever science and a bit of laser magic, the new shade now exists in our perception. And it is changing how we think about vision.
Olo: Born in a Lab
The new shade is not found in nature, nor can you mix a couple of paints to get it. It was discovered through a process that directly targeted the M cones in the human eye, which are responsible for processing medium wavelength light. Using pinpoint lasers, scientists hit just the right cells without disturbing the others. What happened next stunned the participants. They reported seeing a pigment unlike any other, something not even comparable to green, blue, or teal.
This was not an accidental discovery or a trick of the light. The experiment was tightly controlled, and the participants were consistent in describing the experience. It was not just a fancy shade of turquoise, it was something entirely new. Think of it like hearing a sound no instrument has ever made. Except this time, it is a shade your eyes were not wired to recognise until now.
Unfortunately for curious minds, this new pigment can not be seen on your phone, computer screen, or even in real life without specialised equipment. The conditions needed to recreate it are highly specific and technical, involving laser stimulation of single cones in the eye. So, for now, it is a shade that lives only in the world of experimental neuroscience and in the memories of a lucky few.
New Discovery Could Change Everything
Beyond the wow factor of discovering a new shade, the implications of olo stretch into how we treat vision-related issues. Scientists now have a clear path to understanding how the brain interprets signals from the eye, especially in people with colour blindness. It opens the door to new therapies, maybe even technologies that could simulate colours for those who have never experienced them.
It also forces a deeper philosophical question: if we can invent or unlock new shades and pigments, how many more are out there, hidden by the limitations of our biology? Could we one day develop technology that expands our perception? This discovery invites a reimagining of reality. What we see might just be a sliver of what is possible.
Even in creative fields like design and digital art, there is a spark of curiosity. What if future interfaces could display new or other unseen shades and pigments? What would branding, fashion, or entertainment look like with a new colour palette at their fingertips? While we are a long way from that being reality, this discovery is already igniting imaginations far outside the lab.
Conclusion
The discovery of a new spectrum is a reminder that our world is still full of surprises. There is more to see than meets the eye, literally. While the rest of us cannot yet perceive this mysterious hue, the idea that a new palette is still waiting to be discovered changes how we think about perception, science, and even art. It is not every day that something so simple as colour turns out to be more complex than we ever imagined. And who knows? This discovery might just be the first of many doors opening into a much more colourful future.
