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

    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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. 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.

  7. 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.

  8. Net Heads

    With a new arsenal of mathematical approaches, neuroscientists are unraveling the surprisingly few steps messages take to traverse the vast networks of brain cells underlying thought and perception.

  9. Online Victims: Internet behaviors make targets of some kids

    A national telephone survey indicates that one in five kids, ages 10 to 17, encountered instances of unwanted sexual solicitation or harassment online in the past year.

  10. Well-Tooled Primates

    People may have leaned on ancient primate-brain capacities to begin making stone tools by 2.5 million years ago, a transition that possibly spurred the development of language and other higher mental faculties.

  11. Archaeology

    Suburb of Stonehenge: Ritual village found near famed rock site

    Excavations at a 4,600-year-old village in southern England indicate that it was occupied by the builders of nearby Stonehenge and hosted feasts where people assembled before transporting the dead to the huge circle of stones, which served as an ancestor memorial.

  12. Child abuse heralds adult inflammation

    A long-term study in New Zealand indicates that child abuse leads to a disruption of part of the stress response in adulthood that has been linked to heart disease, diabetes, and chronic lung disease.