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. Health & Medicine

    Nail-biting and thumb-sucking may not be all bad

    Nail-biters and thumb-suckers may actually be warding off allergies by introducing germs to their mouths, a new study suggests.

  2. Neuroscience

    New brain map most detailed yet

    By combining different types of data, researchers have drawn a new detailed map of the human brain.

  3. Neuroscience

    The brain’s blueprint for aging is set early in life

    The brain's decline may mirror its beginning, offering clues to aging.

  4. Neuroscience

    Rewarding stimulation boosts immune system

    Activating feel-good nerve cells boosts mice’s immunity, a new study suggests.

  5. Neuroscience

    Newborn brain has to learn how to feed itself

    Nerve cells in newborn mice can’t yet feed themselves.

  6. Neuroscience

    Properly timed exercise aids memory

    Well-timed exercise strengthens memories.

  7. Health & Medicine

    Moms’ voices get big reactions in kids’ brains

    Mothers’ voices get big responses in kids’ brains, a neural reaction that may lead to feelings of calm.

  8. Neuroscience

    Abnormal sense of touch may play role in autism

    Autism-related genes are important for touch perception, a sense that may help the brain develop normally, a study of mice suggests.

  9. Neuroscience

    Morphine may make pain last longer

    Instead of busting pain, morphine lengthened the duration of pain in rats with a nerve injury.

  10. Neuroscience

    Alzheimer’s culprit may fight other diseases

    A notorious Alzheimer’s villain may help bust microbes.

  11. Neuroscience

    Wiping out gut bacteria impairs brain

    Antibiotics that wiped out gut bacteria curbed brain cell production in mice, a new study finds.

  12. Health & Medicine

    Here are a few more things for the childproofing list

    Some seemingly safe objects may be particularly dangerous for little kids.