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

    Corn domestication took some unexpected twists and turns

    A DNA study challenges the idea people fully tamed maize in Mexico before the plant spread.

  2. Humans

    ‘Little Foot’ skeleton analysis reignites debate over the hominid’s species

    Long-awaited analyses of the Little Foot skeleton have researchers disagreeing over resurrecting a defunct species name.

  3. Genetics

    A 5,000-year-old mass grave harbors the oldest plague bacteria ever found

    DNA from an ancient strain of the plague-causing bacterium could help uncover the origins of the deadly disease.

  4. Archaeology

    Stone Age people conquered the Tibetan Plateau’s thin air

    Stone tools that are at least 30,000 years old suggest that people settled the high-altitude Tibetan Plateau earlier than scientists thought.

  5. Archaeology

    Stone-tool makers reached North Africa and Arabia surprisingly early

    Ancient Homo species spread advances in toolmaking far beyond East Africa.

  6. Archaeology

    An exploding meteor may have wiped out ancient Dead Sea communities

    An archaeological site not far from the Dead Sea shows signs of sudden, superheated collapse 3,700 years ago.

  7. Archaeology

    A Bronze Age tomb in Israel reveals the earliest known use of vanilla

    Residue of the aromatic substance in 3 jugs dates to around 3,600 years ago.

  8. Archaeology

    A Bronze Age game called 58 holes was found chiseled into stone in Azerbaijan

    A newly discovered rock pattern suggests that the game traveled fast from the Near East to Eurasia thousands of years ago.

  9. Anthropology

    Skull damage suggests Neandertals led no more violent lives than humans

    Neandertals’ skulls suggest they didn’t lead especially injury-prone lives.

  10. Archaeology

    Like Europe, Borneo hosted Stone Age cave artists

    Rock art may have spread from Borneo across Southeast Asia starting 40,000 years ago or more.

  11. Archaeology

    Fossils hint hominids migrated through a ‘green’ Arabia 300,000 years ago

    A once-green Arabia may have enabled Stone Age entries by Homo groups.

  12. Archaeology

    Ancient South Americans tasted chocolate 1,500 years before anyone else

    Artifacts with traces of cacao push back the known date for when the plant was first domesticated by 1,500 years.