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

    Young science scholars to be recognized

    Finalists in the Science Talent Search are in Washington, D.C., to present their research; winners are to be announced March 16.

  2. Science & Society

    Book Review: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

    In her new book, science writer Rebecca Skloot describes how Henrietta Lacks' cells changed the face of modern medical science.

  3. Health & Medicine

    First complete look at families’ genes

    Comparing the complete genetic material of family members pinpoints genes involved in three rare inherited diseases.

  4. Health & Medicine

    Cocktails ward off the bulge

    A large study has found that middle-aged women who drink moderately gain less weight over the years compared to their teetotaling peers.

  5. Health & Medicine

    Gene linked to pain perception

    A common genetic variant that appears to increase sensitivity could lead to the development of better medications.

  6. Life

    Researchers distinguish two different types of blood stem cells

    Working in mice, scientists find that red and white blood cells arise from different progenitors.

  7. Physics

    Aluminum superatoms may split water

    Metal clusters could create hydrogen for fuel, simulations suggest.

  8. Humans

    Titanic study: It takes time to do the right thing

    Comparing the Titanic and Lusitania disasters suggests that people in a crisis are more likely to maintain social norms if they have longer to react.

  9. Health & Medicine

    Chip of tooth tells radiation dose

    A two-milligram dot of tooth enamel serves as a radiation dosimeter.

  10. Health & Medicine

    Early disruption of schizophrenia gene causes problems later

    New study may help scientists to understand the sequence of events that can lead to schizophrenia

  11. Health & Medicine

    Older adults’ brains boosted by more, not better, sleep

    A study finds that older adults perform better on a learning and memory task if they have slept more, while uninterrupted rest matters more for younger folks.

  12. Health & Medicine

    Possible prostate cancer culprit

    Scientists identify a type of stem cell and a gene that play a role in the disease.