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. Planetary Science

    ‘The Martian’ is entertaining science fiction rooted in fact

    With NASA’s help, filmmakers made story of astronaut stranded on Mars believable.

  2. Life

    Old stem cell barriers fade away

    Barrier that keeps aging factors out of stem cells breaks down with age.

  3. Genetics

    Bad Karma can ruin palm oil crops

    Missing epigenetic mark makes for Bad Karma and poor palm oil crops.

  4. Life

    Small number of genes trigger embryo development

    New views of early embryo development reveal differences between humans and mice.

  5. Life

    Unhelpful adaptations can speed up evolution

    Unhelpful changes in gene activity stimulate natural selection.

  6. Life

    New microscope techniques give deepest view yet of living cells

    Two new microscopy techniques are helping scientists see smaller structures in living cells than ever glimpsed before.

  7. Life

    New microscope techniques give deepest view yet of living cells

    Two new microscopy techniques are helping scientists see smaller structures in living cells than ever glimpsed before.

  8. Health & Medicine

    Blood test can predict breast cancer relapse

    Blood tests for breast cancer DNA can predict relapse.

  9. Life

    Extinction in lab bottle was a fluke, experiment finds

    Extinction in a bottle was a random catastrophe, not survival of the fittest.

  10. Health & Medicine

    Recent advances may improve Jimmy Carter’s chances against melanoma

    Improvements in melanoma treatment over the last five years may aid former President Jimmy Carter’s battle against the disease.

  11. Genetics

    Gene thought to cause obesity works indirectly

    Researchers have discovered a “genetic switch” that determines whether people will burn extra calories or save them as fat.

  12. Neuroscience

    Claim of memory transfer made 50 years ago

    Scientist’s claims of transferred memories were more fiction than fact.