Laura Sanders

Laura Sanders

Senior Writer, Neuroscience

Laura Sanders reports on neuroscience for Science News. She wrote Growth Curve, a blog about the science of raising kids, from 2013 to 2019 and continues to write about child development and parenting from time to time. She earned her Ph.D. in molecular biology from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, where she studied the nerve cells that compel a fruit fly to perform a dazzling mating dance. Convinced that she was missing some exciting science somewhere, Laura turned her eye toward writing about brains in all shapes and forms. She holds undergraduate degrees in creative writing and biology from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, where she was a National Merit Scholar. Growth Curve, her 2012 series on consciousness and her 2013 article on the dearth of psychiatric drugs have received awards recognizing editorial excellence.

All Stories by Laura Sanders

  1. Health & Medicine

    Even for elite athletes, the body’s metabolism has its limits

    While ultramarathoners are capable of huge energy spurts, overall the athletes top out at 2.5 times the metabolic rate needed for basic body functions.

  2. Animals

    Toy-obsessed dogs give clues to addictive behaviors

    Some dogs love playing with toys so intensely they can’t stop—offering scientists a window into behavioral addictions.

  3. Health & Medicine

    Are ultraprocessed foods truly addictive?

    Ultraprocessed foods can create powerful pulls similar to those of alcohol, nicotine or opioids, with worrisome consequences for our health.

  4. Health & Medicine

    With little proof, Trump links Tylenol to autism and touts a treatment

    The FDA plans to add a warning to Tylenol’s label and OK use of a drug for autism. Researchers say there’s little data to support either move.

  5. Neuroscience

    Lung cancer plugs into the mouse brain

    Exploring the relationship between cancer cells and nerve cells, which can signal tumors to grow, could unearth ways to slow disease.

  6. Health & Medicine

    Brains don’t all act their age

    A slew of new research attempts to zero in on what happens as our brains get older — and what can bring about those changes early.

  7. Health & Medicine

    The brain preserves maps of missing hands for years

    Countering the idea of large-scale rewiring, women whose hands were removed retained durable brain activity patterns linked to their missing fingers.

  8. Neuroscience

    Your red is my red, at least to our brains

    Despite philosophical debates, colors like red may spark similar brain activity across individuals, new research suggests.

  9. Health & Medicine

    New clues emerge on how foods spark anaphylaxis

    In two studies of mice, a molecule called leukotriene helped trigger food-induced anaphylaxis. A drug approved for asthma — zileuton — diminished it.

  10. Neuroscience

    Popular weight-loss drugs may ease migraines too

    A GLP-1 drug led to fewer days with headaches, a small pilot study of migraine sufferers shows. It may work by lowering pressure inside the head.

  11. Health & Medicine

    Summer is a great time to protect your hearing

    Concerts, fireworks and other hallmarks of summer can hurt your hearing long-term. But there are safe ways to enjoy them.

  12. Neuroscience

    At early ages, autism in girls and boys looks similar

    A new study of more than 2,500 children under 5 found little difference in autism symptoms between boys and girls.