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. Genetics

    50 years ago, diabetic mice offered hope for understanding human disease

    Mice described in 1967 are still helping researchers understand diabetes.

  2. Genetics

    Resistance to CRISPR gene drives may arise easily

    New tools for pest and disease control could become useless without improvements.

  3. Genetics

    Dog domestication happened just once, ancient DNA study suggests

    DNA of ancient canines counters idea that dogs were domesticated twice, in Europe and Asia.

  4. Life

    These bacteria may egg on colon cancer

    Streptococcus gallolyticus may goad colon cancer growth.

  5. Neuroscience

    Just one night of poor sleep can boost Alzheimer’s proteins

    Deep sleep may prevent the buildup of Alzheimer’s proteins.

  6. Genetics

    How a crop-destroying fungus mutated to infect wheat

    Study details how wheat got a new pathogen called blast fungus.

  7. Genetics

    DNA evidence is rewriting domestication origin stories

    DNA studies are rewriting the how-we-met stories of domestication.

  8. Genetics

    Horse version of ‘Who’s your daddy?’ answered

    Genetics and horse pedigrees reveal all modern domestic stallions’ sires.

  9. Life

    Chronic flu patients could be an early warning system for future outbreaks

    Cancer patients’ long-term flu infections may preview future viruses.

  10. Life

    Scientists spy on the secret inner life of bacteria

    New images reveal the inner workings of bacteria.

  11. Genetics

    DNA reveals how cats achieved world domination

    Analysis of 9,000 years of cat remains suggests two waves of migration

  12. Health & Medicine

    New heart attack treatment uses photosynthetic bacteria to make oxygen

    Photosynthetic bacteria can produce oxygen to keep rat heart muscles healthy after a heart attack.