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

    How baby cries bore into mom’s brain

    Mouse moms’ brains are sculpted by pups’ pleas for help, which make her into a better mother.

  2. Neuroscience

    Brain on display

    In her online videos, Nancy Kanwisher goes where few other neuroscientists go.

  3. Neuroscience

    Tinnitus causes widespread trouble

    People don’t just hear the phantom ringing of tinnitus in the part of the brain that processes sounds.

  4. Neuroscience

    Catching Zs may snag memories, too

    Flies genetically destined to be forgetful could boost their memory with sleep.

  5. Psychology

    Big ears don’t necessarily come with baggage

    In a small study, adults judged children and teens with big ears as intelligent and likable.

  6. Neuroscience

    Being watched can boost productivity

    In the company of another, a monkey steps up production on a simple job.

  7. Neuroscience

    When brain’s GPS goes awry, barriers can reboot it

    Brain’s internal map self-corrects when it hits a (literal) wall.

  8. Neuroscience

    Nicotine exposure escalates rats’ desire for alcohol

    Rats drink more alcohol after they’ve been hooked on nicotine.

  9. Neuroscience

    Year in review: Memories vulnerable to manipulation

    New experimental results in 2014 helped bring scientists closer to understanding how the brain manipulates memories to make sense of the world.

  10. Neuroscience

    Year in review: Young blood aids old brains

    Ingredients in young blood can rejuvenate old mice’s bodies and brains, scientists reported in 2014.

  11. Health & Medicine

    The kids will be all right

    Children are generally as resilient as adults when it comes to acute trauma, and studies suggest that a little stress and exercise might help kids cope with disasters.

  12. Health & Medicine

    Moms are more likely than dads to chat with newborns

    Even when fathers are around, mothers tend to talk to their babies more and respond to infants’ vocalizations.