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

    NFL players’ brains take a hit

    Brain scans reveal hidden abnormalities in retired football pros.

  2. Health & Medicine

    Electrodes dupe brain into feeling touch

    Stimulating the right neuron at the right time gave monkeys the sensation of contact.

  3. Health & Medicine

    Elusive baby sleep miracles remain elusive

    There is little evidence to support sleep-training interventions for babies younger than six months. Sorry, sleep-deprived parents.

  4. Health & Medicine

    Why women want to sniff my baby

    Tiny babies smell very, very good. So good that scientists really want to know why some women find this smell irresistible.

  5. Neuroscience

    Some grape-scented compounds repel mosquitoes

    Molecules discovered to drive away bugs after researchers identify cells that detect, and are disgusted by, DEET.

  6. Animals

    Centipede venom fights pain

    Molecule from toxin makes mice less sensitive to pain, may work as well as morphine.

  7. Health & Medicine

    Conversations with my baby

  8. Neuroscience

    An on-off switch for eating

    By triggering or silencing certain brain cells, scientists can get mice to feed or stop feeding regardless of hunger.

  9. Health & Medicine

    It’s too soon to take coffee away from pregnant women

  10. Neuroscience

    Some schemes to boost brainpower are too clever by half

  11. Neuroscience

    Scented naps can dissipate fears

    People unlearned an odor's unpleasant accompaniment when they smelled it in their sleep.

  12. Humans

    Brain research goals laid out

    NIH details priority areas, including improving imaging technology and mapping brain structures.