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

    In babies, turning down inflammation soothes the hurt

    Babies don’t feel nerve pain because their immune systems tamp down inflammation.

  2. Life

    For healthy eating, timing matters

    Limiting eating times improves heart function in fruit flies.

  3. Life

    Chickens to blame for spread of latest deadly bird flu

    Chickens are responsible for the second wave of H7N9 bird flu in China.

  4. Health & Medicine

    Dose of extra oxygen revs up cancer-fighting immune cells

    Extra oxygen helps immune cells shrink tumors in cancer-ridden mice.

  5. Neuroscience

    Brain cells predict opponent’s move in game-playing monkeys

    Newly discovered brain cells help monkeys predict whether a companion will cooperate.

  6. Humans

    Genetic tweaks built humans’ bigger brains

    Genetic tweaks may make human brains big.

  7. Life

    Chili peppers’ pain-relieving secrets uncovered

    Scientists discover how stuff that makes chili peppers hot relieves pain.

  8. Genetics

    Catalog of DNA modifications produces surprises

    A map of chemical modifications of DNA and its associated proteins shows how the genome changes during development and disease.

  9. Life

    Insulin-suppressing hormone discovered

    A newly discovered hormone suppresses insulin production and secretion in fruit flies and maybe in humans.

  10. Genetics

    For penguins, it’s a matter of no taste

    Penguins lack taste genes for bitter, sweet and umami.

  11. Genetics

    Ancient East Asians mixed and mingled multiple times with Neandertals

    East Asians’ ancestors interbred with Neandertals more than once, explaining why modern East Asians carry more Neandertal DNA than Europeans do, two studies suggest.

  12. Life

    The genetic evolution of Darwin’s finches

    A genetic analysis divides Darwin’s finches into more species and uncovers a gene involved in determining beak shape.