Why 98.6 Degrees? Our Body Temperature Strikes a Perfect Balance

Standard human body temperature is 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit: It's one of those numbers from grade school science textbooks—like 65 million years since the dinosaur extinction or nine eight planets in the solar system—that just gets stuck in your head. But why should it be that balmy temperature and no other? According to a study by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, the 98-degree range is in perfect balance.