Bruce Bower

Behavioral Sciences Writer, Science News

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. Archaeology

    Fossils unearthed in Israel reveal possible new human ancestor

    They come from a previously unknown Stone Age group that may represent a complex mashup of early members of our genus Homo.

  2. Archaeology

    Tennessee site yields oldest known American tattoo tools

    Native Americans may have used sharpened turkey leg bones as tattoo needles between 5,520 and 3,620 years ago.

  3. Genetics

    Europe’s ancient humans often hooked up with Neandertals

    DNA from ancient bones shows humans and Neandertals were regularly mixing genes by about 45,000 years ago.

  4. Archaeology

    Harsh Ice Age winters may have helped turn wolves into dogs

    In the Ice Age, Arctic hunters may have turned to some game for their fatty bones. Much of those animals’ meat might have been left to domesticate dogs.

  5. Archaeology

    This prehistoric woman from Peru hunted big game

    Women in the Americas speared large prey as early as 9,000 years ago, new archaeological evidence suggests.

  6. Archaeology

    Stonehenge enhanced voices and music within the stone ring

    Scientists built a 'Stonehenge Lego' model in a sound chamber to study how sound would have behaved in the ancient stone circle.

  7. Archaeology

    This cave hosted the oldest known human remains in Europe

    Bone fragments, tools and other finds in Bulgaria suggest that Homo sapiens moved rapidly into Eurasia as early as 46,000 years ago.

  8. Humans

    Skeletons hint that ancient societies had women warriors

    Some women in North American hunter-gatherer societies and Mongolian herding groups may have been warriors.

  9. Archaeology

    Ancient Egyptian mummy tattoos come to light

    A range of markings discovered on female mummies are challenging ideas about tattoo traditions in ancient Egypt.

  10. Humans

    DNA reveals clues to the Siberian ancestors of the first Americans

    Researchers discovered a previously unknown population of Ice Age people who crossed the Asia-North America land bridge.

  11. Archaeology

    Fossils from a Philippine cave may come from a new human-like species

    Ancient fossils from a Philippine cave may come from a new human-like species, which scientists have dubbed Homo luzonensis.

  12. Fossils

    A skeleton named ‘Little Foot’ causes big debate

    New studies suggest a fossil hominid called Little Foot belongs to the species Australopithecus prometheus. Other scientists question whether such a species exists.