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

    New Alzheimer’s drug shows promise in small trial

    A much-anticipated Alzheimer’s drug shows promise in a new trial, but experts temper hope with caution.

  2. Neuroscience

    GluMI cells are anything but

    GluMI cells are no downers in the retina.

  3. Neuroscience

    Cool nerve cells help mice beat heat

    A new study pinpoints fever-busting cells in mice’s brains.

  4. Neuroscience

    What Donkey Kong can tell us about how to study the brain

    Neuroscience tools failed to reveal much about a simple microprocessor. What can they really tell us about the brain?

  5. Health & Medicine

    Tired parents don’t always follow sleep guidelines for babies

    Night videos revealed parents putting their babies to bed in unsafe environments.

  6. Neuroscience

    Fentanyl’s death toll is rising

    The ability of fentanyl, an opioid, to freeze chest muscles within minutes may be to blame for some overdoses, a new autopsy study shows.

  7. Neuroscience

    Eating shuts down nerve cells that counter obesity

    A group of nerve cells shut down when food hits the lips, a study of mice finds.

  8. Health & Medicine

    Keep it simple when choosing a sunscreen for your kid

    For parents swimming in a sea of sunscreen choices, look for a few key attributes.

  9. Neuroscience

    Aging-related protein may play role in depression

    Mouse study reveals link between aging protein and depression.

  10. Neuroscience

    ‘Neural dust’ can listen to body’s electrical signals

    Tiny crystals can detect electrical signals in nerves and muscles of rats.

  11. Neuroscience

    Red blood cells sense low oxygen in the brain

    Red blood cells sense low oxygen and speed to the scene, a new study suggests.

  12. Neuroscience

    Gift-giving brain cells are lifeline to injured nerve cells

    After an injury, astrocytes give nerve cells a gift of mitochondria, mouse study suggests.