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

    Second of two blocked flu papers released

    Held back for months by a U.S. government biosafety board, the research pinpoints five mutations that render the potent H5N1 virus transmissible through air.

  2. Life

    You have grandpa’s chromosome tips

    Older fathers pass more gene-protecting DNA to their paternal grandkids.

  3. Life

    Antiaging protein helps set daily rhythms

    Changing levels of sirtuin in the brain alter activity patterns in mice.

  4. Health & Medicine

    Feel the Burn

    Turning on brown fat in humans may boost weight loss.

  5. Genetics

    Poppies make more than opium

    A 10-gene cluster controls the flowers’ production of a valuable cough suppressant and antitumor compound.

  6. Life

    No new smell cells

    Other mammals constantly create new olfactory neurons as they learn new smells, but a new study suggests humans don’t.

  7. Life

    Good cholesterol may not be what keeps the heart healthy

    Genetic study suggests that higher levels of HDL aren’t directly responsible for the lower risk of cardiovascular disease seen in population studies.

  8. Designer Flu

    How scientists made a killer virus airborne — and who should know.

  9. Life

    Genes may influence body’s bacteria

    Specific DNA variants have been found to be associated with the types of microbes that colonize a person’s body.

  10. Life

    Controversial flu research published

    One of two papers detailing airborne H5N1 experiments is released.

  11. Life

    California mad cow case no reason for panic

    An animal recently diagnosed with the disease had an unusual form unlikely to be passed to humans.

  12. Life

    Shot may top acupuncture for pain relief

    Carefully placed enzyme injection has a long-lasting effect in mice.