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

    Year in review: Epigenome makes its debut

    The Roadmap Epigenomics Project, unveiled in February 2015, is the first in a series of 3-D looks at the human genome.

  2. Genetics

    Year in review: Fluke extinction surprises lab

    A die-off of bacteria in a carefully controlled lab experiment offered an evolutionary lesson this year: Survival depends not only on fitness but also on luck.

  3. Genetics

    Liberia’s Ebola outbreak largely traced to one source

    Ebola’s spread and evolution in Liberia echoes patterns seen in Sierra Leone.

  4. Animals

    Water bears’ genetic borrowing questioned

    A new analysis of tardigrade DNA suggests that water bears don’t swap many genes with other organisms after all.

  5. Genetics

    DNA editing shows success in mosquito sterilization

    A new gene drive that sterilizes females could reduce numbers of malaria mosquitoes

  6. Genetics

    Human gene editing research gets green light

    Gene editing research can move forward, but not for reproductive purposes, international summit committee says.

  7. Genetics

    Gene drives spread their wings

    Gene drives may wipe out malaria and take down invasive species. But they may be difficult to control.

  8. Archaeology

    Mystery still surrounds Neandertals

    Neandertals’ relationship to modern humans is still a matter of debate.

  9. Genetics

    Water bears are genetic mash-ups

    Drying out may help tardigrades soak up new DNA, which in turn aids the water bears in withstanding stress.

  10. Life

    DNA doubled in conifer ancestors

    The genomes of conifers — pine, cypress and yew trees — doubled twice in the distant past.

  11. Plants

    Conifer ancestors had a double dose of DNA

    The genomes of conifers — pine, cypress and yew trees — doubled twice in the distant past.

  12. Genetics

    Mosquitoes engineered to zap ability to carry malaria

    Researchers have created a gene drive that prevents mosquitoes from carrying malaria.