Tina Hesman Saey

Senior Writer, Molecular Biology, Science News

Science News 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 Endocrine Society, the Genetics Society of America and by journalism organizations.

All Stories by Tina Hesman Saey

  1. Science & Society

    How much do masks help against COVID-19?

    There’s a range of masks available to the public. From purchased to home-made coverings, all should help — some a lot more than others.

  2. Health & Medicine

    Six foot social-distancing will not always be enough for COVID-19

    To avoid COVID-19, keeping a 6-foot social distance is a good rule of thumb. But for plenty of instances, that might not be nearly far enough.

  3. Health & Medicine

    Coronavirus most contagious before and right after symptoms emerge

    Once the body starts making antibodies to the new coronavirus, it stops making 'live' virus. But beware long-lasting live virus on surfaces, scientists warn.

  4. Health & Medicine

    What ‘community’ spread of coronavirus means

    Health experts warn there are probably many undetected cases already in the United States, raising chances the disease will soon be widespread.

  5. Health & Medicine

    Search speeds up for vaccine against the new coronavirus

    Scientists are investigating unusual ways to make drugs to prevent viral infections. One may even be able to treat already sick people.

  6. Health & Medicine

    The many challenges of corralling a coronavirus outbreak

    The Chinese government has quarantined millions of people in hopes of limiting spread of a new coronavirus. But no one yet knows how much this will help.

  7. Health & Medicine

    Explainer: What is a coronavirus?

    Coronaviruses are a diverse family of disease-causing agents. Some cause the common cold. Newer ones have emerged to pose more serious threats to people.

  8. Genetics

    Explainer: How DNA testing works

    Lots of companies will now test DNA from people and their pets. How do these gene-sequencing techniques work? We explain.

  9. Life

    Medicine Nobel honors discovery of how cells deal with oxygen

    Three researchers figured out the chemical processes by which cells not only sense, but also cope with, differing levels of oxygen. This could lead to new medicines.

  10. Genetics

    CRISPR enters its first human trials

    A host of new human trials are using a gene-editing tool known as CRISPR to treat genetic diseases — from sickle cell and cancers to a blinding eye disorder.

  11. Microbes

    Obesity in mice caused by defects in their immune system

    Subtle defects in T cell function alter rodents’ microbiome and fat absorption, providing hints of what might also be going on in people.

  12. Health & Medicine

    A fungus plus a spider toxin equals a weapon to kill mosquitoes

    A new weapon could help fight mosquitoes that spread malaria. It’s an engineered fungus that infects the insects — then kills them with a spider poison.