For generations, the great predator of the Cretaceous has loomed in the imagination as a cold, reptilian force of nature — but science has now placed it closer to us than we ever expected. By reading the microscopic chemistry of fossilized teeth, researchers have determined that Tyrannosaurus rex maintained a body temperature of roughly 97 degrees Fahrenheit, aligning it metabolically with elephants and humans alike. The finding reframes not just a single species, but our entire understanding of what it meant to be a dinosaur — suggesting that the ancient world pulsed with warm, energetic life