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

    Colorectal cancer is on the rise among younger adults

    Colorectal cancer rates in the United States have increased in people younger than 50.

  2. Genetics

    Human genes often best Neandertal ones in brain, testes

    Differing activity of human and Neandertal versions of genes may help explain health risks.

  3. Health & Medicine

    For Ebola patients, a few signs mean treatment’s needed — stat

    A few criteria may help identify Ebola patients who need the most care.

  4. Genetics

    Human gene editing therapies are OK in certain cases, panel advises

    A panel of experts says clinical gene editing to correct and prevent human disease should move forward, but enhancements should not be allowed.

  5. Genetics

    Number of species depends how you count them

    Genetic evidence alone may overestimate numbers of species, researchers warn.

  6. Ecosystems

    Zika virus ‘spillback’ into primates raises risk of future human outbreaks

    Spillback of Zika virus into monkeys may complicate eradication efforts.

  7. Life

    Mouse cells grown in rats cure diabetes in mice

    Mixing cells of two species produces pig and cattle embryos with some human cells.

  8. Science & Society

    Cancer studies get mixed grades on redo tests

    Replications of cancer studies fail to reproduce some results.

  9. Health & Medicine

    New blood tests can detect prions

    Blood tests may detect prion disease in people even before onset of symptoms.

  10. Genetics

    50 years ago, alcohol use was linked to several gene variants

    50 years later, scientists are still searching for genes that influence drinking.

  11. Genetics

    Proteins that reprogram cells can turn back mice’s aging clock

    Proteins that reprogram adult cells to an embryonic-like state can rejuvenate prematurely aging mice.

  12. Genetics

    Year in review: ‘Three-parent baby’ technique raises hope and concern

    Safety and ethical concerns surround controversial mitochondrial replacement therapy.