Nurinnurun-Green: The SEEN Colour

• Rods and cones are both light-sensitive cells, but rods are primarily for our vision in low-light and don’t distinguish between colours, whereas cones do
• We have three types of cones cells, referred to as red, green and blue cones because of the photopigment they contain, which is sensitive to that wavelength of light on the light spectrum
• Because cones are sensitive to specific wavelengths, instead of red, green and blue cones, we can also call them long, middle and short wavelength-sensitive cones, or L, M and S cones
• Unlike humans, geckos have fantastic colour vision at night which helps them as nocturnal hunters
• The mantis shrimp has up to 16 different photoreceptors!

• What are some reasons humans may have developed the ability to see more shades of green than any other colour?
• The electrical signals from rods and cones are sent along what nerve, to get to the brain?
• The combined action of what two things might also help us see green?
• Which two cone cells (of red, green or blue) overlap the most when looking at a graph of what they detect on the light spectrum?

Sponsored by the University of Sydney, the Sleek Geeks Science Eureka Prize is a national short film competition that encourages school students to communicate a scientific concept in a way that is accessible and entertaining to the public while painlessly increasing their science knowledge. It is intended to support budding young scientists across the nation, who will be our future leaders in research, discovery and communication. You can learn more about the Sleek Geeks Science Eureka Prize here.