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. Life

    Eating a lot of fiber could improve some cancer treatments

    A high-fiber diet, which boosts the diversity of gut microbes, may make an immune therapy against skin cancer more effective.

  2. Genetics

    Genes might explain why dogs can’t sniff out some people under stress

    Genes and stress may change a person’s body odor, confusing police dogs.

  3. Genetics

    A long handshake can spread your DNA to objects you didn’t touch

    Two new studies show that even brief contact with another person or object could transfer your DNA far and wide.

  4. Health & Medicine

    In some cases, getting dengue may protect against Zika

    A Zika outbreak in a Brazilian slum suggests that the timing of dengue infections may matter for protection against Zika.

  5. Genetics

    What FamilyTreeDNA sharing genetic data with police means for you

    Law enforcement can now use one company’s private DNA database to investigate rapes and murders.

  6. Genetics

    DNA from extinct red wolves lives on in some mysterious Texas coyotes

    Mystery canids on Texas’ Galveston Island carry red wolf DNA, thought to be extinct in the wild for 40 years.

  7. Genetics

    This bacteria-fighting protein also induces sleep

    A bacteria-fighting protein also lulls fruit flies to sleep, suggesting links between sleep and the immune system.

  8. Genetics

    A CRISPR gene drive for mice is one step closer to reality

    Researchers have made progress toward creating a gene drive for mice in the lab. Such genetic cut-and-paste machines have yet to be made for mammals.

  9. Animals

    A protein in mosquito eggshells could be the insects’ Achilles’ heel

    A newly discovered protein found exclusively in mosquitoes may one day help control their numbers.

  10. Health & Medicine

    How decorating for Christmas sends people to the ER

    A study takes a stab at quantifying Christmas-related mishaps.

  11. Life

    Mice lack stem cells in the heart needed for self-repair

    Adult mice hearts have no stem cells, a study finds. The same may be true for people, and that’s not welcome news for those who’ve had a heart attack.

  12. Genetics

    News of the first gene-edited babies ignited a firestorm

    A researcher in China announced he created two babies using CRISPR. Many scientists questioned the study’s ethics and medical necessity.