In 2025, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, unveiled a previously unseen color named "olo"—a hyper-saturated blue-green hue that lies beyond the natural limits of human color perception. This breakthrough was achieved using a specialized system called Oz, which employs precise laser pulses to stimulate individual M-cone photoreceptorsin the retina without activating the neighboring S (short-wavelength) or L (long-wavelength) cones. Under normal conditions, it's impossible to isolate M-cone activity due to overlapping spectral sensitivities, making olo inaccessible in everyday visual experiences.aljazeera.com+7sfgate.com+7people.com+7as.com+12people.com+12livescience.com+12en.wikipedia.org

Only five individuals have experienced Olo so far, describing it as an intensely vivid teal unlike any color found in nature.The name "olo" derives from its theoretical LMS (Long, Medium, Short) cone activation pattern: (0, 1, 0), representing exclusive stimulation of M-cones. While some experts question whether olo constitutes a truly "new" color or an extreme variant of existing hues, the discovery offers promising avenues for advancing our understanding of visual perception.Potential applications include developing treatments for color vision deficiencies and exploring expanded color perception capabilities.