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

    Ancient populations were game for growth

    Archaeological evidence of a Stone Age shift in dietary preferences, from slow to swift small game, suggests that the human population rose sharply sometime between 100,000 and 50,000 years ago.

  2. Speech loses beat in dyslexia

    The severe reading disorder known as dyslexia may involve an inability to perceive a critical rhythmic beat that separates parts of spoken words.

  3. Resilient DNA: Gene may brighten future for abused kids

    A long-term study in New Zealand indicates that a genetic variation associated with high concentrations of certain brain chemicals protects abused children from becoming violent and impulsive later in life.

  4. Sleep hits pothole on lonely street

    Researchers have found that extremely lonely people get a poor night's sleep, a factor that may contribute to the link between loneliness and elevated incidence of physical illness and death.

  5. Corporal punishment takes research hit

    A review of 88 studies concludes that corporal punishment, such as spanking, yields no psychological or behavioral benefits for children and may prove harmful in some cases.

  6. Staying Alive with Attitude: Beliefs about aging sway seniors’ survival

    In a small Ohio town, people aged 50 and over who reported a positive outlook on aging lived about 7½ years longer than those who held negative views about getting older.

  7. Archaeology

    Ancient site yields a copper whopper

    Excavations in Jordan revealed the largest known Early Bronze Age metal-production facility, where workers crafted high-quality copper tools and ingots beginning around 4,700 years ago.

  8. Men of Prey

    Scientists have started to uncover the roots of rape and child molesting, although questions remain about whether it's possible to identify who will be a repeat sex offender or to provide effective treatment for such behavior.

  9. Anthropology

    Evolution’s Surprise: Fossil find uproots our early ancestors

    Researchers announced the discovery of a nearly complete fossil skull, along with jaw fragments and isolated teeth, from the earliest known member of the human evolutionary family, which lived in central Africa between 7 million and 6 million years ago.

  10. The Eyes Have It: Newborns prefer faces with a direct gaze

    Only a few days after birth, babies already home in on faces that fix them with a direct gaze and devote less attention to faces with eyes that look to one side.

  11. Caregivers take heartfelt hit

    Older persons experience elevated systolic blood pressure for at least 1 year after a spouse with Alzheimer's disease enters a nursing-care facility or dies.

  12. Autism leaves kids lost in face

    Brain-wave evidence indicates that 3- to 4-year-old children diagnosed with autism can't tell their mothers' faces from those of female strangers.