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

    Gene linked to autism in people may influence dog sociability

    DNA variants were linked to beagles’ tendency to seek human help.

  2. Genetics

    First ‘three-parent baby’ born from nuclear transfer

    The first human baby produced through spindle nuclear transfer was born in April, New Scientist reports.

  3. Genetics

    New era of human embryo gene editing begins

    Gene editing of viable human embryos is happening, in and out of the public eye.

  4. Genetics

    Single exodus from Africa gave rise to today’s non-Africans

    Genetics and climate studies differ on when modern humans left Africa.

  5. Humans

    Lawrence David’s gut check gets personal

    Computational biologist Lawrence David regularly opens himself to new scientific challenges, including tracking his own microbiome.

  6. Life

    How one scientist’s gut microbes changed over a year

    Computational biologist Lawrence David chronicled changes in his gut microbes for a year.

  7. Genetics

    To study Galápagos cormorants, a geneticist gets creative

    To collect DNA from four cormorant species, this scientist called in bird scientists far and wide.

  8. Health & Medicine

    Mixing Pokémon Go and driving isn’t safe

    Pokémon Go alters reality to driver’s detriment, a new study finds.

  9. Life

    Color vision strategy defies textbook picture

    Cone cells in the retina see in black and white and color.

  10. Health & Medicine

    Tasmanian devils evolve resistance to contagious cancer

    Tasmanian devils are evolving resistance to a deadly contagious cancer.

  11. Genetics

    Genes help snub-nosed monkeys live the high life

    Snub nosed monkeys have certain genetic variants that help them breathe easy in low oxygen.

  12. Neuroscience

    Computers refine epilepsy treatment

    Surgeons harnessed computers in 1966 to pinpoint source of epilepsy in the brain.