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.
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All Stories by Tina Hesman Saey
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Genetics
50 years ago, alcohol use was linked to several gene variants
50 years later, scientists are still searching for genes that influence drinking.
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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.
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Genetics
Year in review: ‘Three-parent baby’ technique raises hope and concern
Safety and ethical concerns surround controversial mitochondrial replacement therapy.
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Life
Cell biologists learn how Zika kills brain cells, devise schemes to stop it
Cell biologists are learning more about how the Zika virus disrupts brain cells to cause microcephaly. Meanwhile, several strategies to combat the virus show preliminary promise.
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Life
Zika induces brain cell die-off
Cell biologists are learning more about how the Zika virus disrupts brain cells to cause microcephaly.
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Life
Cells avoiding suicide may play role in spread of cancer
A newly discovered process can pull cells back from the brink of death.
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Genetics
Epigenetic marks may help assess toxic exposure risk — someday
Exposure to things in the environment may change chemical tags on DNA and proteins, but it’s still unclear how to use that data to assess health risks.
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Life
Having an extra chromosome has a surprising effect on cancer
Extra chromosome copies may protect against, not cause, cancer.
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Life
Cell distress chemicals help embryos quickly heal
The chemicals trigger drawstring-like structures that help close wounds.
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Life
Mitochondria variants battle for cell supremacy
Some mitochondria are more competitive than others, which could complicate treatments for mitochondrial diseases.
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Life
Tiny toxic proteins help gut bacteria defeat rivals
A strain of E. coli makes competition-killing tiny proteins and soothes inflamed intestines.