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. Anthropology

    Iceman mummy shares last meals

    DNA analyses of food remains from the intestines of a 5,000-year-old mummified man found in Europe's Tyrolean Alps indicate that his last two meals included meat from mountain goats and red deer, as well as wild cereals.

  2. Archaeology

    Early New World Settlers Rise in East

    New evidence supports the view that people occupied a site in coastal Virginia at least 15,000 years ago.

  3. Anthropology

    Lucy on the ground with knuckles

    Some early human ancestors appear to have walked on all fours using their knuckles, much as chimpanzees do.

  4. Anthropology

    Goat busters track domestication

    People began to manage herds of wild goats at least 10,000 years ago in western Iran.

  5. Pushing the Mood Swings

    Social and psychological forces sway the course of manic depression.

  6. Cooperative strangers turn a mutual profit

    In social exchanges, monkeys and people often appear to act according to the principle that "one good turn deserves another."

  7. Psychotic Biology: Genes yield clues to schizophrenia’s roots

    Two genes involved in the transmission of glutamate, a key chemical messenger in the brain, are linked to the occurrence of the severe mental disorder schizophrenia.

  8. Paleontology

    Salvaged DNA adds to Neandertals’ mystique

    Researchers who isolated a sample of Neandertal mitochondrial DNA say that it provides no evidence that Neandertals contributed to modern human evolution.

  9. Anthropology

    Court releases ancient skeleton

    A judge's decision gives scientists the right to study the 9,000-year-old skeleton dubbed Kennewick Man rather than turn the remains over to a coalition of Native American tribes for reburial.

  10. Anthropology

    Neandertals return at German cave site

    Researchers who tracked down the location of a German cave where the first Neandertal skeleton was discovered in 1856 have unearthed new Neandertal finds.

  11. Evolutionary Upstarts

    Theories of the evolution of the human mind are evolving, with some researchers now presenting alternatives to the dominant notion that genetic competition for survival during the Stone Age yielded brains stocked with a bevy of instincts for specific types of thinking.

  12. Good Readers May Get Perceptual Lift

    The ability to hear and see rapidly changing stimuli may underlie reading skills, raising the possibility of new approaches to reading instruction.