Laura Sanders

Laura Sanders

Senior Writer, Neuroscience

Laura Sanders reports on neuroscience for Science News. She wrote Growth Curve, a blog about the science of raising kids, from 2013 to 2019 and continues to write about child development and parenting from time to time. She earned her Ph.D. in molecular biology from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, where she studied the nerve cells that compel a fruit fly to perform a dazzling mating dance. Convinced that she was missing some exciting science somewhere, Laura turned her eye toward writing about brains in all shapes and forms. She holds undergraduate degrees in creative writing and biology from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, where she was a National Merit Scholar. Growth Curve, her 2012 series on consciousness and her 2013 article on the dearth of psychiatric drugs have received awards recognizing editorial excellence.

All Stories by Laura Sanders

  1. Neuroscience

    The message-sending part of neurons may be blobby, not smooth

    Axons can be shaped like strings of pearls, research in mice and people show. How that shape may influence brain signaling is not yet clear.

  2. Neuroscience

    Electronic ‘tattoos’ offer an alternative to electrodes for brain monitoring

    A standard EEG test requires electrodes that come with pitfalls. A spray-on ink, capable of carrying electrical signals, avoids some of those.

  3. Health & Medicine

    Vaccines, fluoride, raw milk: How RFK Jr.’s views may shape public health

    If confirmed as head of the Department of Health and Human Services, Kennedy could influence U.S. policy on vaccines, drugs and food safety.

  4. Neuroscience

    Some people don’t have a mind’s eye. Scientists want to know why

    The senses of sight and sound are usually mingled in the brain, but not for people with aphantasia.

  5. Psychology

    Smiles tweaked by AI can boost attraction, a speed-dating study shows

    Using face filters to alter expressions manipulated feelings of attraction, raising questions about how such technology may influence social interactions.

  6. Neuroscience

    Hair pulling prompts one of the fastest known pain signals

    The ouch of hair pulling is transmitted with the help of a protein used to sense light touches. These details could lead to new treatments.

  7. Neuroscience

    Semaglutide saps mice’s motivation to run

    Mice given semaglutide, the key ingredient in drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy, lost weight, but they also voluntarily ran less on a wheel.

  8. Neuroscience

    Scientists have traced all 54.5 million connections in a fruit fly’s brain

    By tracing every single connection between nerve cells in a single fruit fly’s brain, scientists have created the “connectome,” a tool that could help reveal how brains work.

  9. Neuroscience

    A study in mice hints at a new way to treat spinal cord injuries

    The finding suggests that a drug to ease swelling can speed recovery and stop cell death.

  10. Neuroscience

    A cell biologist is investigating the balance of brain flexibility, stability

    Andrea Gomez, a Berkeley molecular and cell biologist, applies her wide-ranging curiosity to brains’ mysteries ranging from synapses to psychedelics.

  11. Neuroscience

    Pregnancy overhauls the brain. Here’s what that looks like

    Neuroscientist Liz Chrastil’s brain scans before, during and after pregnancy are providing the first view of a mom-to-be’s structural brain changes.

  12. Neuroscience

    Alzheimer’s blood tests are getting better, but still have a ways to go

    Blood biomarker tests could help doctors know if a person's cognitive symptoms are due to Alzheimer's or something else.