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. Health & Medicine

    Gut ‘bug’ transplants can bring kids with autism lasting benefits

    Giving fecal transplants to kids with autism helped their stomach symptoms and behavioral symptoms — even two years after the poop trade.

  2. Genetics

    Koala genes could help scientists save these furry animals

    Scientists have examined the clues within koalas’ genetic instruction book. They are learning more about how to save these cuddly creatures.

  3. Health & Medicine

    Dogs carry a grab bag of flu viruses

    Dogs carry a mix of flu viruses, including some that came from pigs. But there’s no reason to worry just yet.

  4. Genetics

    Your DNA is an open book — but can’t yet be fully read

    There are many companies that offer to read your DNA. But be prepared: They cannot yet fulfill all those promises you read in their ads.

  5. Genetics

    New tools can fix genes one letter at a time

    New tools can edit the genome one letter at a time, correcting common errors that lead to disease.

  6. Life

    Doctors repair skin of boy dying from ‘butterfly’ disease

    Researchers fixed a genetic defect, then replaced about 80 percent of a child’s skin. This essentially cured the boy’s life-threatening disease.

  7. Genetics

    Small genetic accident made Zika more dangerous

    A new study finds that a tiny mutation made the Zika virus more dangerous, by helping it kill cells in the fetal brain.

  8. Brain

    Understanding body clocks brings three a Nobel Prize

    Three American men will share this year’s Nobel prize for physiology or medicine. The award recognizes their contributions to understanding the workings of the body’s biological clock.

  9. Genetics

    Molecular scissors fix disease-causing flaw in human embryos

    Researchers moved closer to being able to fix gene-edited embryos in people. They removed a flawed gene that causes heart failure

  10. Genetics

    Explainer: How CRISPR works

    Scientists are using a tool called CRISPR to edit DNA in all types of cells.

  11. Genetics

    DNA tells tale of how cats conquered the world

    Ancient DNA study suggests that domesticated cats spread across the ancient world in two waves.

  12. Health & Medicine

    Your gut’s germs may decide whether white bread or whole wheat is best — for you

    Surprise! Gut microbes may determine how your body responds to starches in the diet.