A Precisely Pointed Laser Allows People To See New Color ‘Olo’
Researchers isolated one kind of cone in the eye and aimed lasers at it to allow subjects to see a super vibrant teal shade they call “olo.”Think about the colors of the world around you—the blue of a cloudless sky, the green of a new leaf, the blazing red of a tulip’s petals. We see these colors because of the way our eyes work. But what if we could change how our eyes respond to light, and present them with light in a form they’d never encounter in the natural world? What would we see?This week, researchers reported in the journal Science Advances that by using precisely aimed laser light, they were able to selectively target just one of the three types of color-sensing cones in the human retina. The cone, dubbed “M” because it responds to medium wavelengths of light, is normally stimulated at the same time as cones that respond to longer wavelength reddish light, or shorter wavelength bluish light. But after mapping the location of the cones in several subjects’ eyes, the researchers were able to target just the M cones with one specific wavelength of green laser light—a condition that would never exist in nature. The result, they say, is a highly saturated bluish-green teal color unlike anything in the real world. The researchers named their new color “olo.”Study author James Fong, a computer science PhD student at University of California Berkeley, and his advisor, Dr. Ren Ng, join Host Flora Lichtman to talk about the project, and the possibility of expanding the limits of human color perception.Transcript for this story will be available after the show airs on sciencefriday.com.
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18:36
$8B Of Climate Tech Projects Canceled | In Louisiana, A Successful, Growing Wetland
How will market uncertainty and a lack of federal support for climate efforts affect the future of clean energy in the United States? Plus, many wetlands are disappearing, but Louisiana’s “accidental” Wax Lake Delta is growing—and informing coastal restoration techniques.$8 Billion Of Climate Tech Projects Were Canceled In 3 MonthsIn the first three months of the Trump administration, officials have been aggressive in cancelling climate change related efforts, from enacting layoffs at large agencies to withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement and rescinding federal funding for green research and infrastructure.Joining Host Flora Lichtman to break down the changes we’re starting to see in climate policy and clean tech on the ground is Casey Crownhart, senior climate reporter at MIT Technology Review. They also talk about other science news of the week, including a Florida-based startup that’s recycling solar panels, an update on the growing measles outbreak in the Southwest, signs of a US science brain drain, humanoid robot participants in the Beijing half marathon, and how bats manage to drink on the fly.In Louisiana, A Chance To Study A Successful, Growing WetlandAmid the rapid erosion of Louisiana’s coast, something hopeful is happening where the Atchafalaya River meets the Gulf. A flow of sediment from a decades-old river diversion has accidentally given birth to new wetlands.While that small delta is dwarfed by what’s washing away all around it, researchers have gained knowledge from Wax Lake Delta that could help save the rest of Louisiana’s coast and contribute to a better understanding of wetland science across the globe.Read more at sciencefriday.com.Transcripts for each segment will be available after the show airs on sciencefriday.com.
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20:34
Investigating Cat Behavior Through Genetics
With the help of cat owners, a new project investigates cats’ biology and aims to link some of their behaviors to their genes.Calling all cat people: This one’s for you. Despite humans’ long history of welcoming felines into their homes and delis, research on cats lags far behind research on dogs. Now, scientists behind the project Darwin’s Ark are working to close the cat gap by enlisting cat caretakers from across the country to submit a tuft of fur and answer a few questions about their feline’s appearance, personality, and behaviors.Host Flora Lichtman talks about the project, as well as what we do and don’t know about cat genetics, with Dr. Elinor Karlsson, chief scientific officer at Darwin’s Ark, and director of the Vertebrate Genomics Group at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard Universities.Transcript for this segment will be available after the show airs on sciencefriday.com.
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18:13
Advances In Brain-Computer Interfaces For People With Paralysis
An evolving technology is changing the lives of people with paralysis: brain-computer interfaces (BCI). These are devices that are implanted in the brain and record neural activity, then translate those signals into commands for a computer. This allows people to type, play computer games, and talk with others just by thinking, allowing more freedom to communicate.For decades, this technology has looked like a person controlling a cursor on a screen. But this work has advanced, and in a recent breakthrough, a person with paralysis in all four limbs was able to move a virtual quadcopter with extreme precision by thinking about moving it with their fingers.Another area of BCI research involves speech. Recent work has shown promise in allowing people with vocal paralysis to “speak” through a computer, using old recordings to recreate the person’s voice from before their paralysis.Joining Host Flora Lichtman to discuss the state of this technology, and where it may be headed, are Dr. Matthew Willsey, assistant professor of neurosurgery and biomedical engineering at the University of Michigan, and Dr. Sergey Stavisky, assistant professor of neurosurgery and co-director of the Neuroprosthetics Lab at the University of California, Davis.Transcript for this segment will be available after the show airs on sciencefriday.com.
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18:37
A Blind Inventor’s Life Of Advocacy And Innovation
In Connecting Dots: A Blind Life, inventor Josh Miele recounts his life story and path to becoming an accessibility designer.When inventor and scientist Josh Miele was 4 years old, a neighbor poured sulfuric acid on his head, burning and permanently blinding him. In his new book Connecting Dots: A Blind Life, Miele chronicles what happened afterwards, growing up as a blind kid, and how he built his career as an inventor and designer of adaptive technology.Host Flora Lichtman talks with Dr. Joshua Miele, an Amazon Design Scholar and MacArthur Fellow, or “Genius Grant” recipient. They talk about the inspiration for the book, how he grew into his career, and how disabled people need to be included in the technology revolution.Transcript for this segment will be available after the show airs on sciencefriday.com.
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Covering the outer reaches of space to the tiniest microbes in our bodies, Science Friday is the source for entertaining and educational stories about science, technology, and other cool stuff.
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