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.
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All Stories by Laura Sanders
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Health & Medicine
Sense for morphine has gender gap
Female rats have fewer brain receptors that sense morphine, making the drug less effective. The work points to the need for more research on why medicine potency can vary among people.
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Health & Medicine
For preemies, less is more
Multiple courses of steroid treatment for mom could harm premature babies.
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Life
Dinosaur day care dads
A new study shows some male dinosaurs may have been the primary caretakers of their young.
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Earth
Severe heat and cold top list of deadly natural hazards
Data compilation by region, type of hazards shows deaths from more frequent events accumulate into significant numbers. Lightning strikes also high on the list.
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Health & Medicine
Gene could drive species separation
Newly identified fruit fly gene provides evidence for “cheating genes” that may cause species schisms
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Health & Medicine
Lack of sleep has genetic link with type 2 diabetes
Large genomic studies show body rhythms, melatonin may influence sugar levels in the blood.
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Physics
Physicists Hot for Ultracold
Physicists have recently coaxed molecules into ultracold states in which motion is nearly gone.
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Health & Medicine
Fine-scale structure of egg crucial for fertility
Scientists describe the shape of a protein required for conception. These new molecular details will lead to an improved understanding of how sperm and egg unite.
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Health & Medicine
Bone density may be determined in the gut
A surprising new connection between the gut and bones may lead to new forms of treatment for human bone diseases such as osteoporosis.
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Animals
Lizard push-ups grab attention
Nearby lizards more likely to get the message if its preceded by push-ups
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Humans
Moonsleeping bad for spacewalking
Day three of the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting offered news about Down syndrome and sleep cycles.
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Health & Medicine
Still crazy (in love) after all these years
A brain imaging study reveals that some people are as giddy as teenagers in love, even after two decades of marriage.