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. Culture of the Sea

    Whales and dolphins strut their social stuff for scientists.

  2. Certain mental ills may be tied to violence

    A long-term study in New Zealand links elevated violence rates in young adults to the presence of at least one of three psychiatric ailments—alcohol dependence, marijuana dependence, and a range of psychotic experiences and beliefs called schizophrenia-spectrum disorder.

  3. Get Mellow, Fellow: Male baboons cooperate after cultural prodding

    Researchers say they have found a troop of wild baboons in which females somehow transmit peaceful attitudes to males who transfer into the group.

  4. Archaeology

    Israeli cave yields Stone Age kills

    A recently discovered Israeli cave has yielded some of the earliest known evidence of hunting by humans or our evolutionary ancestors, from around 300,000 to 200,000 years ago.

  5. Anthropology

    Rock-solid choices of first toolmakers

    Human ancestors who took up stone toolmaking in Africa around 2.6 million years ago already showed a proclivity for choosing high-quality pieces of rock, a new study finds.

  6. Archaeology

    Cat’s Cradle? New find pushes back origin of tamed felines

    Archaeological finds on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus indicate that people domesticated cats by about 9,500 years ago, long before cat taming achieved prominence in ancient Egypt.

  7. Anthropology

    Gene implicated in apes’ brain growth

    A gene with poorly understood functions began to accumulate favorable mutations around 8 million years ago and probably contributed to brain expansion in ancient apes.

  8. Suppressed thoughts rebound in dreams

    Thoughts that are consciously suppressed during the day often pop up in dreams, regardless of whether they involve emotionally charged desires, a new study suggests.

  9. Anthropology

    Evolution’s Lost Bite: Gene change tied to ancestral brain gains

    In a controversial new report, a research team proposes that an inactivating gene mutation unique to people emerged around 2.4 million years ago and, by decreasing the size of jaw muscles, set the stage for brain expansion in our direct ancestors.

  10. Anthropology

    Prehistoric Family Split: DNA puts Neandertals on edge of human ancestry

    The largest sample of ancient mitochondrial DNA extracted from Stone Age fossils to date indicates that Neandertals made, at most, a small genetic contribution to our direct prehistoric ancestors.

  11. Movie sparks group brain responses

    People exhibit a surprising amount of brain activity in common while viewing a dramatic movie, a brain-imaging study finds.

  12. Anthropology

    Grannies give gift of longer lives

    Data from two 18th- and 19th-century farming communities supports the theory that child care assistance from grandmothers has contributed to the evolution of extended human longevity.