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.
Trustworthy journalism comes at a price.
Scientists and journalists share a core belief in questioning, observing and verifying to reach the truth. Science News reports on crucial research and discovery across science disciplines. We need your financial support to make it happen – every contribution makes a difference.
All Stories by Tina Hesman Saey
-
Health & Medicine
Breast cancer cells spread in an already-armed mob
Source tumors may already contain the mutations that drive aggressive cancer spread.
-
Science & Society
Fox experiment is replaying domestication in fast-forward
How to Tame a Fox recounts a nearly 60-year experiment in Russia to domesticate silver foxes.
-
Genetics
Ancient DNA bucks tale of how the horse was tamed
DNA from ancient horses reveals early domestication involved plenty of stallions.
-
Health & Medicine
Faux womb keeps preemie lambs alive
A device can keep premature lambs alive for a month in womblike conditions.
-
Earth
50 years ago, continental drift began to gain acceptance
Half a century later, plate tectonics is well-established but still an active field of research.
-
Genetics
Gene knockouts in people provide drug safety, effectiveness clues
People naturally lacking certain genes give clues about drug safety and efficacy, a study in Pakistanis shows.
-
Life
Cells’ stunning complexity on display in a new online portal
A new online explorer tool from the Allen Institute for Cell Science shows 3-D models of cell interiors.
-
Genetics
Cephalopods may have traded evolution gains for extra smarts
Editing RNA may give cephalopods smarts, but there’s a trade-off.
-
Health & Medicine
Engineered immune cells boost leukemia survival for some
Engineered immune cells can extend life for some leukemia patients.
-
Genetics
Gene editing of human embryos yields early results
Gene editing in embryos has started in labs, but isn’t ready for the clinic.
-
Health & Medicine
Random mutations play large role in cancer, study finds
Mistakes made while copying DNA account for more mutations in cancer cells than environment or inheritance do.
-
Health & Medicine
Colorectal cancer is on the rise among younger adults
Colorectal cancer rates in the United States have increased in people younger than 50.