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. Autism’s DNA Trail: Gene variant tied to developmental disorder

    A study of more than 700 families with children diagnosed with autism has identified a gene variant, already known to affect brain formation, that boosts a person's chances of developing this severe disorder.

  2. Prepared brains achieve insight

    Sudden verbal insights arise from distinct brain operations that focus attention and facilitate access to word knowledge.

  3. Well Traveled: Gene split arose early in domesticated goats

    Two separate goat lineages inhabited the same site in southwestern Europe about 7,000 years ago, indicating that the extensive transport and mixing of domesticated goats began shortly after the origins of farming in the Near East.

  4. Right brain area linked to fairness

    The ability to control selfish impulses in order to reject an unfair deal depends on a specific right brain area.

  5. Shop Until You Can’t Stop: Compulsive buying affects both men and women

    A national telephone survey indicates that nearly 6 percent of adults find themselves unable to resist frequent shopping binges that leave them saddled with debt, anxiety, and depression.

  6. Montessori Learning Aid: Alternative school shows impact on poor children

    An alternative teaching program known as the Montessori method gave an academic and social boost to Milwaukee youngsters that did not occur in their peers attending other schools.

  7. Chemical Enlightenment

    After a 40-year hiatus, research on the psychedelic drug psilocybin indicates that it often triggers mystical and spiritual experiences in ordinary people, at least temporarily changing their lives for the better.

  8. Anthropology

    Evolution’s Child: Fossil puts youthful twist on Lucy’s kind

    Researchers have announced the discovery of the oldest and most complete fossil child in our evolutionary family yet found.

  9. Mood disorder cuts work performance

    A national survey finds that people with bipolar disorder lose even more workdays each year as a result of their illness than do workers with major depression.

  10. Anthropology

    Neandertal debate goes south

    A controversial report concludes that Neandertals lived on southwestern Europe's Iberian coast until 24,000 years ago, sharing the area for several thousand years with modern humans before dying out.

  11. Anthropology

    Scripted Stone: Ancient block may bear Americas’ oldest writing

    A slab of stone found by road builders in southern Mexico may contain the oldest known writing in the Americas, although some scientists regard the nearly 3,000-year-old inscriptions cautiously.

  12. Copycat Monkeys: Macaque babies ape adults’ facial feats

    Scientists for the first time have established that baby monkeys, shortly after birth, imitate facial movements made by people and adult monkeys.