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. Tech

    Computers get under our skin

    Epidermal devices offer new potential to integrate electronics into the body.

  2. Life

    Common virus may ride up nose to brain

    Almost everyone is infected, but in some people a widespread herpes bug appears to reach the central nervous system by an olfactory route.

  3. Life

    How exercise benefits nerve cells

    Activity stimulates production of a neural insulation that moves messages faster.

  4. Humans

    Brain waves make a fast brake

    New technology would allow drivers to slam on the brakes faster just by thinking about it.

  5. Health & Medicine

    One problem, many paths

    Autism’s many genetic players may act through common networks.

  6. Health & Medicine

    Chimp brains don’t shrink

    Primate studies aim to find out why humans get dementia.

  7. Health & Medicine

    ‘Wave of death’ may not be a last gasp

    A minute after decapitation, a rat's severed head shows signs of life.

  8. Humans

    Mirror system gets an assist

    Study finds two brain systems are surprisingly active when an amputee observes a task she can’t perform.

  9. Health & Medicine

    Residents of the brain

    It's a zoo in there: Scientists turn up startling diversity among neurons.

  10. Health & Medicine

    Bright minds tackle global health

    Nobel laureates, young scientists meet in Germany to exchange ideas for fighting disease.

  11. Health & Medicine

    Brain has two slots for working memory

    The left and right hemispheres have equal and independent capacity, monkey study finds.

  12. Life

    Ketamine’s antidepressant effect explained

    A potential fast-acting treatment boosts the brain chemical BDNF, which may be lacking in depression.