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

    Pygmies’ short stature linked to high death rates

    Island-dwelling pygmies provide contested evidence that body size shrinks as mortality rates climb.

  2. Life

    Monkey moms and babies communicate from the start

    Macaque mothers and infants engage in emotional interactions similar to those of human moms and their babies, a new study suggests.

  3. Psychology

    Joint attention provides clues to autism and cooperation

    Psychologists and philosophers convene to discuss the roots of shared knowledge at a meeting in Waltham, Mass.

  4. Humans

    Partial skeleton gives ancient hominids a new look

    African hominid fossils, including a partial skeleton, reveal a surprising mix of features suitable for upright walking and tree climbing 4.4 million years ago.

  5. Humans

    Autism may include aptitude for analogy

    Contrary to what had been thought, some kids with this disorder recognize and compare relationships among objects in visual scenes

  6. Anthropology

    DNA points to India’s two-pronged ancestry

    Two ancient populations laid the genetic foundation for most people now living in India, a new DNA study suggests.

  7. Psychology

    Rates of common mental disorders double up

    New, higher prevalence rates for certain mental disorders fuel a debate over how to revise psychiatric diagnoses.

  8. Anthropology

    Stone Age twining unraveled

    Plant fibers excavated at a cave in western Asia suggest that people there made twine more than 30,000 years ago.

  9. Archaeology

    Europe’s oldest stone hand axes emerge in Spain

    Researchers report identifying Europe’s oldest stone hand axes at Spanish sites dating to 900,000 and 760,000 years ago.

  10. Psychology

    Morality Play

    Universal concerns, not cultural values, may shape kids’ developing notions of right and wrong.

  11. Humans

    Girls have head start on snake and spider fears

    At 11 months of age, girls quickly learn to associate fearful faces with images of snakes and spiders, a new study suggests.

  12. Archaeology

    Exhuming a violent event

    Four graves containing 13 skeletons have given scientists a glimpse of a lethal raid that occurred in central Europe 4,600 years ago.