Sunday Special: Scientists say they've found a new color

Scientists claim they’ve found a new color that no one has ever seen before. Meanwhile, a new invention allows users to touch and interact with holographic objects using their hands.

P.S. The Sunday Special is designed to help you discover the most important scientific and technological breakthroughs outside of AI. Our regular AI and Tech updates will resume as usual on Monday.

SCIENCE SUNDAY

The most interesting scientific discoveries and breakthroughs this week

Eye Opener: Scientists claim to have discovered a "new color" no one has seen before. They’ve built a device called Oz with a laser that stimulates the retina to unlock a color called olo — a “blue-green of unprecedented saturation,” according to test subjects. Not everyone is convinced, though, with some researchers disputing the claim that it’s a new color at all. Although you can’t see the actual color naturally, here is a pale version to give you an idea.

Hands-On: From Star Wars to Avatar, interactive holograms have always been a sci-fi staple. Now, scientists have brought it to the real world with FlexiVol, a touchable 3D hologram that allows users to manipulate holographic objects with their bare hands. Its new elastic diffuser technology lets users grab, rotate, and interact with the virtual world naturally, potentially redefining how we engage with digital content.

Dead Beats: An artificial "brain" is allowing a dead musician to make music years after his death in 2021. Showcased at an art installation in Western Australia, two lab-grown "brain organoids" created from late composer Alvin Lucier's donated blood cells are creating "complex, sustained resonances that fill the space with sound". The tiny white blobs, sitting on electrode meshes, generate electrical signals that trigger mallets to strike brass plates, raising questions about creativity, consciousness, and artistic immortality.

Historical Showdown: Despite centuries of stories, artwork, and Hollywood depictions, archaeologists never really had any direct physical evidence of gladiators battling ferocious beasts in Roman arenas — until now. A new analysis of the 1,800-year-old skeleton of a gladiator, unearthed 20 years ago, reveals a series of depressions on his pelvis speculated to be from the bite of a big cat — the first tangible proof of human-animal combat during Roman times.

RAM Reaper: In what could potentially be a killshot for flash memory and RAM, Chinese scientists have built PoX, the world's fastest memory device that writes data at roughly 25B operations per second — 10,000x faster than current technology. It combines the speed of volatile RAM with the data retention of flash memory, potentially eliminating a major bottleneck in AI hardware performance and strengthening China's position in foundational chip technologies.

PRESENTED BY NEBIUS

Engineers: Move TBs of S3 data fast (without crashes)

S3 migrations across the cloud suck. They’re slow, frustrating, and oftentimes fail. But now, there’s a way to move terabytes of data quickly using multiple machines.

Nebius’ latest guide details how to combine SkyPilot + s5cmd + Nebius AI Cloud. This open-source setup blasts through terabytes with RAM disk speed, multi-node orchestration, and built-in verification—no vendor lock, no crashes, no headaches.

Learn how to do it here.

NEW TECH

Our favorite new tech gadgets this week

1. Plantaform: The world’s first smart indoor garden that allows you to grow fresh herbs and vegetables using fog. It comes with an app to help you monitor plant growth.

2. Elseluck Desk Treadmill: A compact, under-desk treadmill designed for home and office use. It packs an LED display that tracks speed, distance, time, and calories in real time, and comes with a remote control for easy adjustments.

3. Bluevua ROPOT-Lite: A countertop reverse osmosis water purifier that filters water through a 7-stage system, including UV sterilization and remineralization for better taste.

4. Zero Breeze Mark 3 AC: A portable air conditioner, packed with instant climate control — perfect for camping, outdoor use, or RV travel.

SOCIAL SIGNALS

What’s trending in tech on socials this week

🎪 Pixel Performers: A German circus made headlines in 2019 for using holograms instead of live circus animals for a cruelty-free experience. It’s resurfaced once again and is blowing up on Reddit this week.

🪆 Moving Marvels: Videos of Karakuri, an ancient Japanese doll-making practice that dates back to the seventeenth century, has got Reddit buzzing. It features mechanical dolls that can move without electricity using gears, springs, and weights.

❌ Cringe Catastrophe: ChatGPT’s new casual tone is rubbing Reddit users the wrong way. Some are saying it sounds like a millennial trying too hard to speak in Gen Z slang.

📱 Phantom Factory: A recent post on X shows Xiaomi’s "dark factory”, which reportedly churns out one smartphone per second. Operating 24/7 without production staff or lighting, the factory apparently handles the entire process end-to-end.

☀️ Solar Spill: A video clip showing a plasma drop from the Sun into space has gone viral on Reddit.

PRESENTED BY VANTA

Scaling Security in the Age of AI: Lessons from Vanta, Wiz, & Modo Labs

Join Vanta, Wiz, and Modo Labs on May 8th for a live fireside chat to explore AI’s impact on scaling security programs–what to watch out for, how to adapt, where to adopt AI, and what to focus on next.

This interactive discussion will include insights into top-of-mind issues, actionable steps to strengthen your program, and more. Register here.

ONLY GOOD NEWS

A healthy dose of optimism to kickstart your week

Sticky Shrink: Researchers at Penn State have developed a stretchable, rechargeable sticker that can peer through a poker face to detect genuine human emotions — even when someone tries to mask how they’re really feeling. The device tracks key physiological indicators to differentiate between fake and real emotions. This could potentially flag early signs of mental health issues, even when patients are unable to express how they feel.

Mind Mender: Therapy sessions of the future may require a controller instead of a couch. Scientists at Arcade Therapeutics have developed StarStarter, a video game that rewires how the brain processes negative thoughts by redirecting attention to positive stimuli instead. Clinical trials show promising results with 90% of participants reporting reduced anxiety symptoms. The FDA is set to review it as a potential treatment for Social Anxiety Disorder. You can download the game here or dive into the research here.

Word Wizard: University of Arizona researchers have developed a promising new treatment for primary progressive aphasia, a degenerative language disorder. The new treatment combines traditional speech therapy with noninvasive electrical brain stimulation, giving longer-lasting results than speech therapy alone. It offers hope to those affected by the disorder, helping restore lost function and potentially slowing down progression.

Brain Boost: Health authorities in the US have approved the first "adaptive" deep brain stimulation system for Parkinson's. These devices essentially work like a neurological thermostat — they monitor brain waves in real time and automatically adjust stimulation strength only when abnormal activity appears. Beyond Parkinson's, researchers are already exploring similar approaches for depression, OCD, and severe headaches.

SUNDAY SCIENCE TRIVIA

And here’s the result from last week’s trivia: More than 40% of you got it right!

Your opinion matters!

You’re the reason our team spends hundreds of hours every week researching and writing this email. Please let us know what you thought of today’s email to help us create better emails for you.

Until next time,

Zain and the Superhuman AI team