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

    Skin cells emit slow electric pulses after injury

    The electric skin cell signals, which move at glacial pace compared to those in nerve cells, may play a role in initiating healing.

  2. Health & Medicine

    A new antifungal drug works in a surprising way

    Mandimycin, which targets a different essential fungi cell resource than other antifungal drugs, should harm other cell types as collateral — but doesn’t.

  3. Genetics

    What 23andMe’s bankruptcy means for your genetic data

    As 23andMe prepares to be sold, Science News spoke with two experts about what’s at stake and whether consumers should delete their genetic data.

  4. Health & Medicine

    Measles is spreading. Here’s what experts say you should know

    The uptick in measles cases has left many people wondering about early signs of measles, whether they need an updated vaccine and treatment options.

  5. Health & Medicine

    What experts say about childhood vaccines amid the Texas measles outbreak

    As the Texas measles outbreak grows and HHS head RFK Jr. puts vaccines under new scrutiny, two experts answer questions about the public health tool.

  6. Health & Medicine

    Can probiotics actually curb sugar cravings?

    Some companies claim that taking beneficial bacteria can reduce the desire for sugar. But the evidence comes from mice, not people.

  7. Humans

    Biological sex is not as simple as male or female

    A recent Trump executive order defines sex based on gamete size. But the order oversimplifies genetics, hormones and reproductive biology.

  8. Animals

    This bird’s eye view of a shark hunt won a photo contest

    A snapshot of blacktip reef sharks hunting hardyhead silverside fish won the 2024 Royal Society Publishing Photography Competition.

  9. Health & Medicine

    Toxic dangers lurk in LA, even in homes that didn’t burn

    Urban wildfires like LA’s make harmful chemicals from burning plastics and electronics that can make indoor air dangerous for months.

  10. Life

    This drawing is the oldest known sketch of an insect brain

    Found in a roughly 350-year-old manuscript by Dutch biologist Johannes Swammerdam, the scientific illustration shows the brain of a honeybee drone.

  11. Health & Medicine

    AI could transform health care, but will it live up to the hype?

    AI has the potential to make health care more effective, equitable and humane. Whether the tech delivers on these promises remains to be seen.

  12. Health & Medicine

    The spread of breast cancer may be inherited

    A variant of PCSK9, a gene involved in raising cholesterol, may spur metastasis. An approved antibody might stop it.