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. Archaeology

    Agriculture’s roots go tropical

    Tropical-forest dwellers in Central America may have cultivated manioc and other root crops as many as 7,000 years ago.

  2. Archaeology

    Stone Age statuettes don disputed apparel

    A report describing woven caps, skirts, belts, and other apparel on Venus figurines from the Stone Age draws some critical responses.

  3. Some teens show signs of future depression

    Certain characteristics typify teens who suffer recurrences of depression as young adults, raising researchers' hopes for devising improved depression treatments.

  4. Intimate violence gets female twist

    An analysis of data on relationship violence in the general population finds that, excluding murder and sexual assaults, women prove slightly more likely than men to commit one or more aggressive acts against a partner—though men are more likely than women to inflict injuries that require medical help.

  5. Same interviewer, better memories

    Children may remember details of a witnessed crime more accurately if the same person conducts successive interviews with them.

  6. Memory echoes in brain’s sensory terrain

    The process of remembering an event reactivates brain regions that were involved in initially seeing or hearing the event.

  7. Abused kids lose emotional bearings

    Physical abuse and neglect appear to undermine preschoolers' emotional development in different ways.

  8. Brains generate a body of feeling

    Happiness, sadness, and other basic emotions activate unique networks of brain areas that track the body's internal status.

  9. The brain spreads its sights in the deaf

    Altered brain activity in deaf people may strengthen their peripheral vision.

  10. Monkeys May Tune In to Basic Melodies

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

  11. Archaeology

    Maya palace suddenly expands

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

  12. Anthropology

    The Forager King

    A celebrated anthropologist surprises and inspires his biographer.