Neat:

X-Rays of Iconic Fossil’s Feathers Reveal Color Patterns

This is interesting not only in that it helps to put some detail into our knowledge of the distant past, but also because the light it helps cast on some of the sadder aspect of humanity. There are a number of people who believe that the Archeopteryx is not a fossil, but a hoax.  Examples:

THE ULTIMATE HOAX: ARCHAEOPTERYX LITHOGRAPHICA

What Was Archaeopteryx?

The claim that all ten of the known Archeopteryx fossils are frauds, where someone somehow added the impressions of feathers to an existing fossil of the apparently feather-less Compsognathus, was of course quite silly. But to claim that a century and a half ago the forgers looked forward in time enough to salt the fossil with carefully arranged and vanishingly thin displays of nickel and copper compounds? Feh.