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. Grade-Schoolers Grow into Sleep Loss

    By the sixth grade, many middle-class children may experience substantial sleep deprivation that has the potential to interfere with their ability to learn and pay attention.

  2. Brain trait fosters stress disorder

    A brain-scan study of pairs of twin brothers, in each of which only one twin had been a Vietnam combat veteran, indicates that the inheritance of an undersized brain structure called the hippocampus predisposes individuals to post-traumatic stress disorder.

  3. Neural Shape-Up: Brain anticipates object perception

    A new brain-scan study indicates that so-called higher visual areas predict the structure of incoming visual information and suppress activity in the visual system's entry area to foster object recognition.

  4. Paleontology

    Fossils Hint at Who Left Africa First

    Fossil skulls found in central Asia date to 1.7 million years ago and may represent the first ancestral human species to have left Africa.

  5. Anthropology

    Ancient Lure of the Lakes: Early Americans followed the water

    Archaeological investigations in Chile indicate that beginning around 13,000 years ago, early American settlers lived at high altitudes during humid periods, when they could set up hunting camps on the shores of lakes.

  6. Paleontology

    Africa’s east coast netted ancient humans

    Excavations of an exposed reef on Africa's Red Sea coast indicate that humans lived there 125,000 years ago, pushing back the date for the earliest seaside settlement by at least 10,000 years.

  7. Anthropology

    Fossil skull spurs identity dispute

    A dispute has broken out over whether a recently discovered, 7-million-year-old fossil skull represents the earliest known member of the human evolutionary family or an ancient ape.

  8. Spreading Consciousness

    A reanalysis of brain-imaging data links conscious visual experience to activity patterns throughout the brain, challenging the popular view that specific brain areas coordinate this mental state.

  9. Archaeology

    Ancient origins of fire use

    Human ancestors may have learned to control fire 1.7 million years ago in eastern Africa.

  10. Archaeology

    Guard dogs and horse riders

    More than 5,000 years ago, the Botai people of central Asia had ritual practices that appeared in many later cultures.

  11. Cries and Greetings

    Baboon intimacy and detachment present vexing clues.

  12. Placebos for depression attract scrutiny

    FDA clinical trials suggest that placebos provide substantial relief to depressed patients, but debate continues about whether it's ethical to use placebos in studies of antidepressant drugs.