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. Psychology

    Don’t blame winter for that bleak mood

    Contrary to popular opinion, depression doesn’t spike in winter, survey finds.

  2. Archaeology

    Babylonians used geometry to track Jupiter’s movements

    Babylonians took a geometric leap to track Jupiter’s movements long before European astronomers did.

  3. Anthropology

    Attack 10,000 years ago is earliest known act of warfare

    Human skeletons unearthed in East Africa show signs of a roughly 10,000-year-old lethal raid.

  4. Archaeology

    Ancient stone tools raise tantalizing questions over who colonized Sulawesi

    Hominids reached an island not far from hobbits’ home by around 200,000 years ago.

  5. Anthropology

    Iceman has the world’s oldest tattoos

    A more than 5,000-year-old European mummy gets his tattoos confirmed as world’s oldest.

  6. Psychology

    Kids grasp words as symbols before learning to read

    Preschoolers grasp that written words refer to specific things before they learn to read.

  7. Psychology

    As suicide rates rise, researchers separate thoughts from actions

    Advances in suicide research and treatment may depend on separating thoughts from acts.

  8. Health & Medicine

    Cow bites and spacecraft injuries enliven new medical diagnostic codes

    The 10th edition of International Classification of Diseases went into effect in 2015, and it included some interesting additions.

  9. Anthropology

    Thigh bone adds to mystery over 14,000-year-old Homo species

    Controversial Chinese leg fossil may point to hybrid humans 14,000 years ago.

  10. Humans

    Year in review: Early human kin could shake up family tree

    From a South African cave to an East African rift valley, fossil and archaeological finds reported in 2015 added new twists to the evolution of the human genus.

  11. Humans

    Year in review: Native Americans are Kennewick kin

    Ancient DNA identified 8,500-year-old Kennewick Man as a Native American relative.

  12. Archaeology

    6,000-year-old skeletons in French pit came from victims of violence

    Human bones in a French pit recall lethal conflicts and limb lopping 6,000 years ago.