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. Life

    Smell deals with deprivation differently

    One odor-related brain region called the orbitofrontal cortex keeps the sense primed for resumed input during a cold.

  2. Uncommon Carriers

    People have a surprising number of rare genetic variants.

  3. Humans

    North African Diaspora written in genes

    DNA analysis of people from 15 groups identifies distinct groups and migrations.

  4. Life

    Select cells appear to spawn tumors

    Separate studies support the theory that stem cells cause cancers to emerge and recur.

  5. Humans

    DNA hints at African cousin to humans

    Complete genetic profiles of people from three hunter-gatherer groups suggest Homo sapiens interbred with a now-extinct species on the continent relatively recently.

  6. Life

    Genome of a fruit besieged

    The banana genome has been unpeeled. The genetic makeup of Musa acuminata, a fertile banana species that gave rise to the seedless Cavendish and other clonal varieties people eat today, sheds light on the plant’s evolutionary history and ripening process. This information may also help researchers boost the crop’s resistance to fungal and viral pathogens […]

  7. Humans

    Maiden shows signs of TB-like infection

    Molecular analysis yields clues about the immune system activity of a probable sacrificial victim.

  8. Health & Medicine

    Sperm analyzed, one by one

    A close look at the sex cell’s DNA reveals basic molecular processes.

  9. Life

    Study shows where identical twins part ways

    By birth, genetic doubles are already using their DNA differently.

  10. Life

    Egg production after birth questioned

    A study finds no evidence of stem cells in adult mouse ovaries, suggesting female mammals really are born with all the gametes they’ll ever have.

  11. Microbes

    Killing with the flip of a switch

    A single genetic transformation turns mild-mannered bacteria into assassins.

  12. Life

    Space trek may help worms live long

    After 11 days in orbit, nematodes showed signs of slower aging.