One of the more comprehensive discussions on this topic can be found here:
http://jfly.iam.u-tokyo.ac.jp/color/index.html


Simon

-----Original Message-----
From: Confocal Microscopy List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of John Oreopoulos
Sent: 22 October 2009 03:26
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Proper presentation of fluorescence microscopy images for people who are color blind / colour blind

Dear list,

While preparing some confocal imaging results for publication just  
recently, I was informed by one of my PhD committee members that I  
should try to present my multi-dimensional microscopy images in such  
a way that they are easy to see by people who are color blind. Ie:  
you should choose colors for your single monochrome channel images  
such that when viewed in a merged/overlay image they convey the same  
information as you would see in a standard green/red overlay image  
for colocalization, etc. I've tried to read up a bit on this topic on  
the web and I even searched the confocal listserv archive, but I  
could find no definitive set of rules or guidelines for going about  
this. The only discussion I could find about this on the listserv  
dates back to 1996 and given that imaging has become even more  
prevalent in today's biological sciences since then, I'm wondering if  
anyone on here now can direct me to a good source or set of journal  
guidelines for publishing color image overlays bearing in mind that  
some of the readers will be color blind . Also, does anyone know of  
any image processing utilities or plugins (ImageJ?) that can covert a  
full color image into a version that is easier to interpret by  
someone who is color blind?

I've come to realize this is even more important than I previously  
thought given that it seems that almost 1 in 10 males worldwide is  
color blind (the occurrence of color blindness is said to be lower in  
females). Actually, if you want to learn more about the topic of how  
humans perceive color and the history of making colors, I highly  
recommend a BBC documentary I came across just yesterday called  
"Cracking the Colour Code". Very entertaining.

John Oreopoulos

PS: I used both spellings of the word color in the subject line so  
that others can find this thread easily in the future.