The T. rex had a body temperature similar to our own, study finds

The useful part

Researchers once thought that dinosaurs were sluggish, cold-blooded creatures. Later findings challenged that, suggesting that older dinosaurs were warm-blooded and could control their body temperature. Most scientists agree that Tyrannosaurus rex was warm-blooded, but pinning down the exact core temperature of an extinct creature is difficult.

How it works

• "We can't just use a thermometer to do that," said Jasmina Wiemann, a paleobiologist at Johns Hopkins University who had no role in the latest work.
• rex grew or searching for clues in its bones, but a firm number eluded them.
• In a new study, researchers hunted for chemical clues in the fearsome predator's teeth.
• It turns out that atoms within the enamel clump together in different patterns based on an animal's body temperature.

Details worth keeping

Using fossilized teeth, scientists have finally taken the T.