Bruce Bower

Bruce Bower

Behavioral Sciences Writer

Bruce Bower has written about the behavioral sciences since 1984. He often writes about psychology, anthropology, archaeology and mental health issues. Bruce has a master's degree in psychology from Pepperdine University and a master's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri. Following an internship at Science News in 1981, he worked as a reporter at Psychiatric News, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association, until joining Science News as a staff writer. In 1996, the American Psychological Association appointed Bruce a Science Writer Fellow, with a grant to visit psychological scientists of his own choosing. Early stints as an aide in a day school for children and teenagers with severe psychological problems and as a counselor in a drug diversion center provided Bruce with a surprisingly good background for a career in science journalism.

All Stories by Bruce Bower

  1. Near-death events take arresting turn

    A survey of people treated for serious heart problems indicates that 1 in 10 of those who survived cardiac arrest had an accompanying near-death experience.

  2. Archaeology

    Maya palace suddenly expands

    Archaeologists find a sprawling palace and other surprises at a 1,300-year-old Maya site in Guatemala.

  3. Monkeys May Tune In to Basic Melodies

    Simple tunes prove as memorable to rhesus monkeys as they do to people.

  4. Naps with stages spark learning

    Napping shows potential as a way to stimulate learning.

  5. Giving Aid, Staying Alive: Elderly helpers have longevity advantage

    Over a 5-year period, older people who offered a lot of social support to their spouses, friends, relatives, and neighbors displayed a lower mortality rate than seniors who gave little or no social support.

  6. Show me the data

    A debate has broken out over whether neuroscientists should share the voluminous data that they generate in their experiments.

  7. Traumas trip up inner-city girls

    Inner-city teenage girls may often experience a severe stress reaction that makes it more difficult for them to succeed in school.

  8. Where’s Poppa? Absent dads linked to early sex by daughters

    Long-term studies conducted in the United States and New Zealand indicate that girls are particularly likely to engage in sexual activity before age 16 and to get pregnant as teenagers if they grew up in families without a father present.

  9. Anthropology

    Lucy’s kind takes humanlike turn

    A new analysis of fossils from a more than 3-million-year-old species in the human evolutionary family reveals that the males were only moderately larger than the females, a finding that has implications for ancient social behavior.

  10. Adults’ brains show temperamental side

    Using brain-imaging techniques, psychologists have identified possible neural locations underlying shyness or gregariousness.

  11. U.S. survey probes depression care

    More than half of all people with major depression now seek treatment for the disorder, but only 1 in 5 depressed people receives what psychiatrists consider to be adequate medication and psychotherapy.

  12. Anthropology

    The Ultimate Colonists

    Human ancestors managed to adjust to life in a variety of ecosystems during the Stone Age, indicating that their social lives were more complex than they've often been given credit for.