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

    Mini microscope is a window into live muscle tissue

    A tiny microscope offers unprecedented views of live human muscles.

  2. Neuroscience

    Year in review: Alzheimer’s protein behaves like a prion

    Under rare conditions, an Alzheimer’s-related protein may have jumped between people, scientists reported this year.

  3. Neuroscience

    Year in review: ‘Speed cells’ help make navigation possible

    The discovery of speed cells in the brain filled in a missing piece in the understanding of how the brain creates an internal map of the world.

  4. Neuroscience

    Year in review: Gaps in brain nets might store memories

    Holes in nets that surround nerve cells may store long-term memories, scientists proposed this year.

  5. Chemistry

    Elusive chemical reaction transition state captured

    A new method provides a detailed look at the elusive transition state.

  6. Neuroscience

    Brain shapes come from mom and dad

    By linking genes to brain shapes, scientists have a new way to study how the brain works.

  7. Health & Medicine

    Iron helps growing bodies, but could too much do harm?

    Iron fortification has been a public health victory in the fight against childhood anemia. But too much iron may be a cause for concern, scientists propose.

  8. Neuroscience

    Busy eyes can make ears go temporarily deaf

    When challenged with a tough visual task, people are less likely to perceive a tone, suggesting that perceptual overload can jump between senses.

  9. Neuroscience

    Eyes hard at work can make ears go temporarily deaf

    When challenged with a tough visual task, people are less likely to perceive a tone, suggesting that perceptual overload can jump between senses.

  10. Health & Medicine

    High-potency pot smokers show brain-fiber damage

    People who smoke potent pot had signs of damage in a brain communication link.

  11. Health & Medicine

    Virus spread by mosquitoes linked to rare birth defect

    In addition to fever, rash and vomiting, Zika virus may cause rare birth defect.

  12. Health & Medicine

    Pregnancy hormone could keep multiple sclerosis at bay

    A small trial hints that pregnancy hormone can reduce MS flare-ups.