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Nature 447, 894-895 (21 June 2007) | doi:10.1038/447894a; Published online 20 June 2007

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Fossils challenge DNA in the dating game

John Whitfield

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Findings revives debate on when modern mammals evolved

Yet again, molecules and fossils are at odds in the dating of a key event in the history of life. On page 1003 of this issue, palaeontologist John Wible of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and his colleagues use their discovery of a Cretaceous mammal from Mongolia to build the most complete fossil-based mammal family tree so far.