Bruce Bower

Bruce Bower

Behavioral Sciences Writer

Bruce Bower has written about the behavioral sciences since 1984. He often writes about psychology, anthropology, archaeology and mental health issues. Bruce has a master's degree in psychology from Pepperdine University and a master's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri. Following an internship at Science News in 1981, he worked as a reporter at Psychiatric News, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association, until joining Science News as a staff writer. In 1996, the American Psychological Association appointed Bruce a Science Writer Fellow, with a grant to visit psychological scientists of his own choosing. Early stints as an aide in a day school for children and teenagers with severe psychological problems and as a counselor in a drug diversion center provided Bruce with a surprisingly good background for a career in science journalism.

All Stories by Bruce Bower

  1. Feminine Side of ADHD: Attention disorder has lasting impact on girls

    Many girls diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder as grade-schoolers struggle with a variety of problems related to that condition as teenagers, even though their hyperactive symptoms often ease.

  2. Archaeology

    Shells may represent oldest known beads

    Researchers have identified three perforated shells dating to around 100,000 years ago as beads, making these finds the oldest known examples of personal decoration.

  3. Gay Males’ Sibling Link: Men’s homosexuality tied to having older brothers

    Birth order may steer some men toward homosexuality in a process that perhaps begins before birth.

  4. Anthropology

    Mexican find reveals ancient dental work

    A 4,500-year-old human skeleton found in Mexico represents the earliest instance in the Americas of intentionally modified teeth, apparently to create space for a ceremonial mouthpiece.

  5. Older but Mellower: Aging brain shifts gears to emotional advantage

    The aging brain reorganizes in ways that foster emotional stability and a tendency to favor positive emotions over negative ones.

  6. Health & Medicine

    Wasting Away: Prozac loses promise as anorexia nervosa fighter

    Although often prescribed for people with anorexia nervosa, the popular antidepressant medication Prozac offers no better protection against the potentially fatal eating disorder than placebo pills do.

  7. Anthropology

    Variety spices up Neandertals’ DNA

    A surprising amount of genetic diversity characterized Neandertals.

  8. Sharp rise noted in meds for youths

    Antipsychotic-drug treatment of children and teenagers seen by office-based physicians increased dramatically between 1993 and 2002.

  9. Growing Up Online

    New studies probe some of the many ways, both good and bad, that children and teenagers use the Internet and adapt to online communication.

  10. All the Rage: Survey extends reach of explosive-anger disorder

    A mental disorder that encompasses a wide range of recurring, hostile outbursts, including domestic violence and road rage, characterizes considerably more people than previous data had indicated.

  11. Archaeology

    Stones of Contention: Tiny Homo species tied to ancient tool tradition

    Controversial new discoveries suggest that our half-size evolutionary cousins who lived on the Indonesian island of Flores as recently as 12,000 years ago carried on a stone-toolmaking tradition passed down from the island's original colonizers more than 700,000 years ago.

  12. Evolving genes may not size up brain

    Two gene variants previously implicated in the evolution of human brain size apparently don't influence brain volumes in people today.