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.
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All Stories by Bruce Bower
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Anthropology
. . . and then takes some lumps
The skeletal diversity that many scientists use to divide up fossil species in our evolutionary past masks a genetic unity that actually encompassed relatively few species, contend researchers in an opposing camp.
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Anthropology
Our family tree does the splits…
Large-scale changes in climate and habitats may have sparked the evolution of many new animal species in Africa beginning 7 million to 5 million years ago, including a string of new species in the human evolutionary family.
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Viruses may play a part in schizophrenia
Scientists have for the first time linked high levels of retroviral activity in the central nervous system to some cases of schizophrenia, a severe mental disorder.
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Anthropology
Early Brazilians Unveil African Look
Prehistoric human skulls found in Brazil share some traits with modern Africans, leading a Brazilian scientist to theorize that Africans rather than Asians first arrived in the Americas sometime before 11,000 years ago.
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Dyslexia gets a break in Italy
Although dyslexia involves a common disruption of reading-related brain activity, the reading performance of people with dyslexia appears to improve if they use a language that has consistent spelling rules.
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Depression linked to heart deaths
In a community sample, people suffering from moderate to severe depression exhibited an elevated death rate from heart disease over a 4-year study period, even if they had no discernable heart disease to begin with.
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Anthropology
Fossil Skull Diversifies Family Tree
A 3.5-million-year-old skull found in Kenya represents a group of species in the human evolutionary family that evolved separately from australopithecines such as Lucy's kind in Ethiopia.
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Repression tries for experimental comeback
A laboratory experiment finds that people have difficulty remembering words that they have intentionally tried to forget, providing support for Sigmund Freud's controversial concept of repression.
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Learning in Waves
Learning plays a largely unappreciated role in mental development, according to researchers who examine the variety of tactics children adopt as they attempt to solve problems in mathematics and other areas.
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Anthropology
Yanomami inquiry moves forward
The American Anthropological Association has launched a formal inquiry into the highly publicized allegations of scientific misconduct by anthropologists and others working in South America among the Yanomami Indians.
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Anthropology
Chimps grasp at social identities
Researchers contend that neighboring communities of wild chimpanzees develop distinctive styles of mutual grooming to identify fellow group members and foster social solidarity.
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Self-illusions come back to bite students
College freshmen who greatly overestimate their academic potential feel confident and happy for a while, but as they move toward graduation, these students feel progressively worse about themselves and become less involved with their schoolwork, a new study finds.