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. Foster infants retain security option

    As late as age 18 months, foster infants quickly develop a secure relationship with a nurturing foster mother.

  2. Anthropology

    Human evolution put brakes on tooth growth

    A new analysis of fossil teeth indicates that the slower pace of dental development observed in people today dates back only about 100,000 years.

  3. Sight sounds off in brains of the deaf

    Deprive the brain of access to sounds, and it reorganizes so that tissue typically consigned to handling acoustic information instead joins the visual system.

  4. Babies show an eye for faces

    By 9 weeks of age, babies can learn to recognize and favor a new face in a matter of minutes.

  5. Archaeology

    Farmers took fast track in settling Europe

    A review of radiocarbon evidence indicates that farming groups colonized southern Europe over no more than 100 to 200 years, beginning around 7,400 years ago.

  6. Health & Medicine

    Brain may forge some memories in waves

    The waxing and waning of synchronized electrical bursts by cells in two key brain areas may promote at least one type of memory formation.

  7. Disabilities develop as family affair

    A long-term study uncovered family factors that influence the mental development of children with biologically based disabilities, as well as evidence of increasing stress among parents as their kids with disabilities approach adolescence.

  8. Moms’ touch gives kids social push

    Premature babies frequently touched in soothing ways by their mothers exhibited much better social and emotional growth as toddlers than did peers who had been exposed to harsh forms of maternal touching.

  9. Maternal care may leave brain legacy

    Rat experiments indicate that mothers' licking and grooming of offspring induces biological changes in female pups that in turn regulate their maternal behavior as adults.

  10. Female chimps don’t stray in mate search

    Genetic testing of chimpanzees living in western Africa indicates that females usually seek mates within their home communities, a finding that contradicts some previous reports.

  11. Plight of the Untouchables

    Stigma's largely unexplored effects on the health of people sufering from ailments ranging from AIDS to schizophrenia attracted much interest at a recent conference.

  12. Paleontology

    Lemurs reveal clues to ancient Asian roots

    A diminutive lemur species inhabited what is now central Pakistan about 30 million years ago, a new fossil find suggests.