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. Paleontology

    Older Ancestors: Primate origins age in new analysis

    A controversial new statistical model concludes that the common ancestor of primates lived 81.5 million years ago, about 16 million years earlier than many paleontologists have estimated.

  2. Anthropology

    The DNA Divide: Chimps, people differ in brain’s gene activity

    The distinctive looks and thinking styles of people and chimpanzees derive from the contrasting productivities of their similar DNA sequences.

  3. Night Patrol for Tired Cops: Police lose sleep over workday hassles

    A large proportion of big-city police officers suffers from insomnia and other serious sleep problems that stem from chronic work stress.

  4. Archaeology

    New World hunters get a reprieve

    New radiocarbon evidence indicates that, beginning around 11,000 years ago, human hunters contributed to North American mammal extinctions that had already been triggered by pronounced climate shifts.

  5. Archaeology

    Stone Age Siberians move up in time

    Siberian sites previously thought to have been bases for early human excursions into North America may only date to about 11,300 years ago, when people have traditionally been assumed to have first reached Alaska.

  6. Archaeology

    Wild Chimps Rocked On: Apes left unique record of stone tools

    Researchers have uncovered the first archaeological site attributed to chimpanzees, which includes stone implements that were used to crack nuts on top of thick tree roots.

  7. When brains wring colors from words

    Brain-scan data indicate that one type of synesthesia, in which people involuntarily see vivid colors while listening to spoken words, is more like a color hallucination than an attempt to imagine colors.

  8. Heads Up: Problem solving pushed bright primates toward bigger brains

    A common capacity among primates for solving a broad range of problems, from coordinating social alliances to inventing tools, may have played a central role in the evolution of progressively larger brains.

  9. Anthropology

    DNA Diaspora: Humanity may share tangled genetic roots

    A controversial new genetic analysis concludes that Homo sapiens evolved by expanding out of Africa in multiple waves beginning at least 600,000 years ago and then interbreeding, rather than totally replacing close relatives such as the Neandertals.

  10. Kids’ ADHD tied to snoring, sleepiness

    Heavy snoring may contribute to the development of hyperactivity and attention problems in some children, especially boys age 8 and younger.

  11. A Maverick Reclaimed

    A small band of researchers wants to resuscitate the ideas of Egon Brunswik, a brilliant but tragic psychologist who died almost 50 years ago.

  12. Good Grief: Bereaved adjust well without airing emotion

    Among bereaved spouses tracked for up to 2 years after their partners' death, those who often talked with others and briefly wrote in diaries about their emotions fared no better than their tight-lipped, unexpressive counterparts.