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. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. 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.

  7. Mother and Child Disunion

    Data on extensive giveaways of daughters by their mothers in northern Taiwan a century ago may challenge influential theories of innate maternal sentiments.

  8. Archaeology

    Stone Age statuettes don disputed apparel

    A report describing woven caps, skirts, belts, and other apparel on Venus figurines from the Stone Age draws some critical responses.

  9. Anthropology

    Brain Size Surprise: All primates may share expanded frontal cortex

    A new analysis of brains from a variety of mammal species indicates that frontal-cortex expansion has occurred in all primates, not just in people, as scientists have traditionally assumed.

  10. Anthropology

    Extinct ancestor wasn’t so finicky

    Contrary to much anthropological thought, the genus Paranthropus showed as much dietary and behavioral flexibility as ancient Homo species did between 3 million and 1 million years ago.

  11. Anthropology

    Early Ancestors Come Together: Humanity’s roots may lie in single, diverse genus

    Newly discovered fossil teeth in eastern Africa that are more than 5 million years old suggest that the earliest members of the human family evolved as a single, anatomically diverse genus.

  12. Song Sung Blue: In brain, music and language overlap

    Different classical-music passages facilitate thinking about specific verbal categories, triggering brain responses previously seen only when people recognized related linguistic meanings.