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. Archaeology

    Stone circles show Neandertals’ social, technical skills

    Ancient human relatives built circular stalagmite structures inside a French cave.

  2. Health & Medicine

    Researchers face off over whether newborns are really copycats

    Scientists disagree about whether babies can imitate movements and facial expressions shortly after birth.

  3. Genetics

    Some Stone Age humans returned to Africa

    DNA from an ancient woman suggests some humans trekked back to Africa.

  4. Genetics

    Some Stone Age humans ventured back to Africa

    DNA from an ancient woman suggests some humans trekked back to Africa.

  5. Anthropology

    ‘Slam-dunk’ find puts hunter-gatherers in Florida 14,500 years ago

    Finds at an underwater site put people in Florida a surprisingly long time ago.

  6. Anthropology

    Asian primates hit hard by ancient climate change

    Chinese fossils suggest primates diverged in Asia and Africa around 34 million years ago.

  7. Anthropology

    Risky skull surgery done for ritual reasons 6,000 years ago

    Some ancient skull surgeries hinged on ritual, not on medical treatment.

  8. Archaeology

    Lasers unveil secrets and mysteries of Angkor Wat

    The world’s largest temple, Cambodia’s Angkor Wat, was revealed by laser and radar studies to be part of a sprawling medieval metropolis.

  9. Archaeology

    Bear bone rewrites human history in Ireland

    A rediscovered bear bone puts humans in Ireland at least 12,600 years ago.

  10. Anthropology

    Belize cave was Maya child sacrifice site

    Bones in Central American cave suggest many Maya sacrificial victims were children.

  11. Humans

    Pieces of Homo naledi story continue to puzzle

    Researchers defend Homo naledi as a new hominid species and debate how it reached an underground cave.

  12. Anthropology

    Viking-era woman sheds light on Iceland’s earliest settlers

    Viking-era woman accompanied island’s early settlers as a child from Scandinavia or Britain.