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. Novel DNA changes linked to autism

    Genetic alterations that occur in children without being inherited from the parents contribute to certain cases of autism and related developmental disorders.

  2. Mental fallout among recent-war veterans

    Almost one in three veterans of military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq receiving medical care at Veterans Affairs facilities displays mental disorders or less-severe problems that still require mental-health treatment.

  3. Anthropology

    Mysterious Migrations

    Controversial new studies report that modern humans from Africa launched cultural advances in Europe at least 36,000 years ago and reached what's now western Russia more than 40,000 years ago.

  4. Anthropology

    Ancient Slow Growth: Fossil teeth show roots of human development

    An extended period of childhood evolved in people at least 160,000 years ago.

  5. Schizophrenia Plus and Minus: Cognitive course nudges patients into workforce

    Antipsychotic drugs exert disappointingly modest effects on the quality of life of people with schizophrenia, although a new cognitive-training program shows promise as a way to get these psychiatric patients into the workforce.

  6. Archaeology

    Spicy finds from before Columbus

    Ancient Americans cultivated and ate chili peppers at least 6,100 years ago, setting the stage for the spicy condiment to spread throughout the world after Columbus' voyages to the New World.

  7. Anthropology

    Tools for Prey: Female chimps move to fore in hunting

    For the first time, researchers have observed wild chimpanzees making and using tools to hunt other animals, a practice adopted mainly by adult females and youngsters.

  8. Anthropology

    New age for ancient Americans

    New radiocarbon dates indicate that the Clovis people, long considered the first well-documented settlers of the New World, inhabited North America considerably later and for a much shorter time than previously thought.

  9. Decoding Autism: Study finds DNA clues to developmental disorders

    New results direct the search for autism-influencing genes to a previously overlooked DNA segment and highlight the role of a crucial chemical-messenger system in creating brains susceptible to autism.

  10. Anthropology

    Chimpanzee Stone Age: Finds in Africa rock prehistory of tools

    Researchers have uncovered evidence of a chimpanzee stone age that started at least 4,300 years ago in West Africa.

  11. Terrorism sparks heartfelt aftermath

    Although terror-attack survivors often rebound emotionally, their bodies stay on heightened alert long after such traumas, according to tests of witnesses to the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.

  12. Two dimensions of mind perception

    A new survey indicates that people discern the presence or absence of a mental life in others by assessing two general dimensions of thought.