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

    ‘Wave of death’ may not be a last gasp

    A minute after decapitation, a rat's severed head shows signs of life.

  2. Humans

    Mirror system gets an assist

    Study finds two brain systems are surprisingly active when an amputee observes a task she can’t perform.

  3. Health & Medicine

    Residents of the brain

    It's a zoo in there: Scientists turn up startling diversity among neurons.

  4. Health & Medicine

    Bright minds tackle global health

    Nobel laureates, young scientists meet in Germany to exchange ideas for fighting disease.

  5. Health & Medicine

    Brain has two slots for working memory

    The left and right hemispheres have equal and independent capacity, monkey study finds.

  6. Life

    Ketamine’s antidepressant effect explained

    A potential fast-acting treatment boosts the brain chemical BDNF, which may be lacking in depression.

  7. Life

    Genetics offers more hints about autism

    Three studies illustrate why a single cause for autism spectrum disorders has been so difficult to pin down.

  8. Health & Medicine

    A year adds up to big changes in brain

    Third grade brings big shifts in how kids use their heads to solve math problems.

  9. Humans

    Skeptical scientists call 1-800-BALONEY on cell phone study

    Findings on brain effects are vigorously attacked and just as strenuously defended.

  10. Health & Medicine

    Clues to autism’s roots from brain study

    A new analysis finds differences in genetic activity, especially in genes controlling nerve cell form and function.

  11. Health & Medicine

    No pain, healthier brain

    When chronic back problems are treated, benefits extend above the neck.

  12. Science & Society

    Youthful ingenuity honored at Intel ISEF

    Young scientists receive awards for insights applicable to cancer treatment, homeland security, water supplies and more.