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

    How one patient spread MERS to 82 people

    One person passed the Middle East respiratory syndrome virus to 82 others during an outbreak in South Korea in 2015.

  2. Genetics

    Gene drives aren’t ready for the wild, report concludes

    A type of genetic engineering called gene drives need more work, a National Academies report concludes.

  3. Life

    Refined ‘three-parent-baby’ procedure improves chances for healthy infant

    Improved technique could reduce risk of passing on faulty mitochondria.

  4. Life

    Obesity’s weight gain message starts in gut

    Acetate made by gut microbes stimulates weight gain, research in rodents suggests.

  5. Genetics

    Ancient DNA tells of two origins for dogs

    Genetic analysis of an ancient Irish mutt reveals complicated history of dog domestication.

  6. Life

    Jumping gene turned peppered moths the color of soot

    A single gene is behind some of the most famous examples of natural selection.

  7. Life

    Scientists find way to break through bad bacteria’s defenses

    Enzymes can break down bacterial biofilm’s sugary walls.

  8. Genetics

    Risk identified in procedure for ‘three-parent babies’

    Resurgent mitochondria could spell trouble for disease therapy.

  9. Life

    How the Galápagos cormorant got its tiny wings

    Galápagos cormorants’ tiny wings may be due to altered reception in cellular antennas.

  10. Life

    Giraffe’s long neck linked to its genetic profile

    Giraffes’ genes may reveal how their necks grew long and hearts got strong.

  11. Genetics

    Faulty gene can turn colds deadly for babies, toddlers

    Children with a faulty virus-sensing gene may land in intensive care after a cold.

  12. Life

    Studying cheese reveals how microbes interact

    Microbiologist Rachel Dutton uses cheese rinds to study how microbes form communities.