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. Gene implicated in development of autism

    A gene involved in fetal-brain development may predispose people to develop autism or several related disorders.

  2. Language goes beyond sight, sound in brain

    Two brain areas long considered crucial for perceiving and speaking words also spring into action in deaf people who are using sign language or watching others do so.

  3. Brain sets sights on mind’s eye

    Brain regions implicated in vision may also contribute to the images in the "mind's eye."

  4. Man’s brain incurs disgusting loss

    A brain-damaged man yields clues to the neural organization responsible for experiencing disgust.

  5. Certain memories may rest on a good sleep

    People who practice a task that demands quick visual processing perform it better on ensuing trials if they are first allowed to get some sleep.

  6. Anthropology

    Out on a Limb

    The science of body development may make kindling out of evolutionary trees.

  7. Untreated schizophrenia may spare brain

    Contrary to the fears of some researchers, treatment delays for schizophrenia may not worsen brain deficits associated with the mental disorder.

  8. Archaeology

    Massive Fishery Resurfaces in Amazon

    Native groups in an Amazonian region of Bolivia built a large-scale fishery and other earthworks at least 300 years ago, before the Spanish conquest.

  9. Anthropology

    ‘Y guy’ steps into human-evolution debate

    The common ancestor of today's males lived in Africa between 35,000 and 89,000 years ago, according to a contested DNA analysis.

  10. Culture of the Sea

    Whales and dolphins strut their social stuff for scientists.

  11. Certain mental ills may be tied to violence

    A long-term study in New Zealand links elevated violence rates in young adults to the presence of at least one of three psychiatric ailments—alcohol dependence, marijuana dependence, and a range of psychotic experiences and beliefs called schizophrenia-spectrum disorder.

  12. Archaeology

    Early farmers crop up in Jordan

    An ancient site discovered in southern Jordan dating back more than 9,000 years may help to illuminate the origins of farming in the Middle East.