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. Humans

    Brain’s mirror system loves the robot

    Experiments that shed light on how the "monkey see, monkey do" part works may suggest why we feel sad for Wall-E.

  2. Life

    Great-grandpa’s genes gone, effects stay

    Removing an obesity-preventing scrap of DNA from a mouse lineage doesn’t prevent descendants from reaping its slimming benefits for generations.

  3. Life

    DNA flaws can stack up as cancer grows

    Acute myeloid leukemia progresses by accumulating various mutations, according to an analysis of one man’s disease over time.

  4. Life

    Brain chemical influences sexual preference in mice

    Males lacking the neurotransmitter serotonin court both sexes equally, researchers are surprised to find.

  5. Humans

    New stars of science honored in D.C.

    The 2011 Intel Science Talent Search awards prizes to 10 young researchers.

  6. Humans

    Intel Science Talent Search finalists reflect on their week in D.C.

    Intel Science Talent Search finalists visit President Obama and members of Congress in prelude to announcement of top prize winners.

  7. Life

    Anxiety switch makes mice shy no more

    Brain-control experiments could help shed light on psychiatric disorders

  8. Health & Medicine

    How brains guesstimate

    Experiments show how the human mind lowballs moving objects’ speed when information is lacking.

  9. Health & Medicine

    Memories Can’t Wait

    Researchers rethink the role of amyloid in causing Alzheimer’s

  10. Health & Medicine

    Cell phones may affect brain metabolism

    Activity increases near phones pressed to users' ears, a new study finds.

  11. Humans

    Justifying research, basic or otherwise

    A neuroscience panel at the annual AAAS meeting is asked to weigh in on the value of curiosity-driven, versus applied, investigations

  12. Genetics

    Some genes like it hot

    Some regional DNA differences may be due to climate, global surveys suggest.