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. Psychology

    Lend an ear to science

    Pop music hit maker Clive Davis knows a catchy song when he hears one. Now an app aims to define that elusive quality more concretely.

  2. Psychology

    Stress hormone rise linked to less risky financial decisions

    People given cortisol chose safer options, suggesting inherent risk aversion as an overlooked variable in financial crises.

  3. Neuroscience

    White matter scaffold offers new view of the brain

    A new neural map of white matter connections may explain why some injuries are worse than others.

  4. Neuroscience

    Gene adds wrinkle to brain development

    Mutations in the gene GPR56 results in misshapen folds in the brain tied to intellectual and language disabilities.

  5. Neuroscience

    Ways of seeing the brain inspire notions of how it works

    As scientists have developed more sophisticated methods and ideas, their understanding of how the brain works has shifted too.

  6. Health & Medicine

    Does breast milk come in pink and blue?

    A new analysis of cows shows that mamas make more milk for daughters. Other studies have hinted that human moms produce different milk for sons than for daughters, so perhaps lactating women also boost production for daughters.

  7. Neuroscience

    Brain shot

    Deciphering how the brain’s circuitry produces thought and behavior is an ambitious and enticing goal on the scale of the Apollo Program or the Human Genome Project. But the neuroscientists involved in a new federal effort have many challenges ahead.

  8. Neuroscience

    Diuretic may treat autism, study in rodents suggests

    Drug that lowers chloride levels in brain cells staves off symptoms in mice and rats.

  9. Neuroscience

    Prosthetic provides sense of touch to man who lost hand

    A new prosthetic hand restores a sense of touch by stimulating nerves in the arm.

  10. Health & Medicine

    Should your kid eat organic? The answer is complicated

    The science behind kids’ pesticide exposure is complicated and patchy.

  11. Health & Medicine

    Your baby knows who your real friends are

    Infants are surprisingly good judges of who ought to be friendly to each other.

  12. Neuroscience

    Famous brain surgery patient H.M. retained a chunk of hippocampus

    The patient's amnesia was probably due to the loss of other regions and neural connections.