Tina Hesman Saey

Tina Hesman Saey

Senior Writer, Molecular Biology

Senior writer Tina Hesman Saey is a geneticist-turned-science writer who covers all things microscopic and a few too big to be viewed under a microscope. She is an honors graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where she did research on tobacco plants and ethanol-producing bacteria. She spent a year as a Fulbright scholar at the Georg-August University in Göttingen, Germany, studying microbiology and traveling.  Her work on how yeast turn on and off one gene earned her a Ph.D. in molecular genetics at Washington University in St. Louis. Tina then rounded out her degree collection with a master’s in science journalism from Boston University. She interned at the Dallas Morning News and Science News before returning to St. Louis to cover biotechnology, genetics and medical science for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. After a seven year stint as a newspaper reporter, she returned to Science News. Her work has been honored by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, the Endocrine Society, the Genetics Society of America and by journalism organizations.

All Stories by Tina Hesman Saey

  1. Health & Medicine

    Coronavirus is most contagious before and during the first week of symptoms

    As major efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic go into effect around the globe, researchers are figuring out just when patients are most contagious.

  2. Genetics

    ‘Human Nature’ offers CRISPR novices a basic introduction

    A film that introduces people to CRISPR aims to spark debate about how to use the gene editor.

  3. Health & Medicine

    Social distancing, not travel bans, is crucial to limiting coronavirus’ spread

    Everything from waving hello instead of shaking hands to cancelling large gatherings of people will help slow the spread of COVID-19.

  4. Health & Medicine

    Cruise ship outbreak helps pin down how deadly the new coronavirus is

    Infections and deaths on the Diamond Princess suggest that, in the real world, 0.5 percent of COVID-19 infections in China end in death.

  5. Health & Medicine

    Repurposed drugs may help scientists fight the new coronavirus

    Work on similar viruses is giving researchers clues on how to begin developing drugs against the new disease.

  6. Health & Medicine

    What you need to know about coronavirus testing in the U.S.

    Testing for the new coronavirus is still limited but could ramp up soon, thanks in part to tests developed by state laboratories and companies.

  7. Health & Medicine

    6 key coronavirus numbers you should know

    COVID-19 cases and deaths are going up around the world. Here are numbers to help you understand the outbreak.

  8. Health & Medicine

    What the new phase of the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. means for you

    U.S. health experts warn there are probably many undetected COVID-19 cases already here, raising chances the disease will soon be widespread.

  9. Health & Medicine

    To tackle the new coronavirus, scientists are accelerating the vaccine process

    Scientists are turning to nontraditional approaches to create vaccines and therapeutics that target the novel coronavirus.

  10. Health & Medicine

    CRISPR-edited immune cells for fighting cancer passed a safety test

    Immune cells engineered with CRISPR to fight cancer made some errors, but caused no serious side effects in participants of a small clinical trial.

  11. Health & Medicine

    Scientists question White House measures to limit spread of coronavirus

    The White House announced new steps to fight the coronavirus outbreak, in what’s becoming one of the biggest public health challenges in decades.

  12. Health & Medicine

    The first case of coronavirus being spread by a person with no symptoms has been found

    Coronavirus cases among coworkers in Germany suggest that the virus can spread from person to person before symptoms appear, similar to the flu.