Pigment or bacteria? Researchers re-examine the idea of 'color' in fossil feathers

Paleontologists studying fossilized feathers have proposed that the shapes of certain microscopic structures inside the feathers can tell us the color of ancient birds. But new research from North Carolina State University demonstrates that it is not yet possible to tell if these structures -- thought to be melanosomes -- are what they seem, or if they are merely the remnants of ancient bacteria.

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