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. Sleepy brains make memorable waves

    Precisely timed electrical discharges in two parts of the brains of sleeping rodents offer clues to how slumber may foster memories of recently learned material.

  2. Essence of g

    New efforts to probe the biology of intelligence stir up a long-running controversy over what mental tests actually measure.

  3. Anthropology

    Gene test probes Neandertal origins

    A new DNA study supports the theory that Neandertals didn't contribute to the evolution of modern humans.

  4. Anthropology

    Dairying Pioneers: Milk ran deep in prehistoric England

    Chemical analyses of prehistoric pot fragments indicate that English farmers milked livestock beginning around 6,000 years ago, providing the earliest confirmed evidence of dairying anywhere in the world.

  5. Psychiatric drugs surge among kids

    The proportion of children and teenagers in the United States taking drugs prescribed for psychiatric disorders more than doubled from 1987 to 1996.

  6. Raising Trust

    Some forager groups may nurture a sharing sense in their offspring.

  7. Smells Like Emotion: Brain splits duties to sniff out feelings

    A study suggests that a brain structure called the amygdala assesses the emotional intensity of both pleasant and unpleasant sensations, thus challenging prior evidence that it primarily coordinates fear responses.

  8. Goodnight moon, hello Mom

    A national study finds that about 13 percent of U.S. infants now routinely sleep in a bed with their mothers or other adults, intensifying interest in alleged health benefits and risks of bed sharing for babies.

  9. Prenatal problems linked to schizophrenia

    Three large, long-term studies found that periods of oxygen deprivation in the fetus, along with obesity and second-trimester respiratory infections in the mother, are associated with adult schizophrenia.

  10. Testosterone’s Family Ties: Hormone-linked problems reflect parent-child bond

    Low or high concentrations of the hormone testosterone may contribute to delinquency and depression mainly in children who have poor relationships with their parents.

  11. Bipolar Math Subtractions: Mental disorder may spur math problems in teens

    A new study suggests that bipolar disorder, a psychiatric illness best known for its stormy mood swings, may frequently undermine mathematical reasoning as well.

  12. Speech veers left in babies’ brains

    The beginnings of left-brain specialization for speech understanding appear in 2-to-3-month-old babies as they listen to an adult talk, according to a new brain-scan investigation.