Contributor

Kristin Houser

Staff Writer

Contact

kristin.houser@freethink.com

Kristin Houser is a staff writer at Freethink, where she covers science and tech. Her written work has appeared in Business Insider, NBC News, and the World Economic Forum’s Agenda, among other publications, and Stephen Colbert once talked about a piece on The Late Show, to her delight.

Prior to joining Freethink, Kristin was a staff writer for Futurism and wrote several animated and live action web series.

Coronavirus

Trees and insects helped create Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine

Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine was nearly 90% effective in a U.K. trial — and the ingredients for the promising subunit vaccine came from insects and trees.

Kristin Houser

Coronavirus

Fauci predicts universal COVID-19 vaccine availability by April

Anthony Fauci expects April will be “open season” for COVID-19 vaccines. Here’s why his prediction about COVID-19 vaccine availability appears accurate.

Kristin Houser

Sustainability

Diy factory turns plastic waste into super-strong bricks

Kenyan startup Gjenge Makers turns plastic waste into plastic bricks that are stronger, lighter, and cheaper than their concrete counterparts.

Kristin Houser

Aerospace

Two new Mars missions just reached the Red Planet

Two of the three Mars missions expected to reach the Red Planet in February 2021 have successfully completed the journey.

Kristin Houser

Computer Science

Cloud-based quantum computing, explained

Cloud-based quantum computing is making the cutting-edge tech available to people today, not years from now when the systems are more readily available.

Kristin Houser

Coronavirus

Ask the crowd: When can I get the COVID-19 vaccine?

Volunteers are creating online tools powered by crowdsourced data to help people answer the question: where and when can I get the COVID-19 vaccine?

Kristin Houser

Surgery

Man's double hand & face transplant may be first to succeed

Five months post-surgery, a double hand and face transplant recipient shows no signs of transplant rejection, suggesting the procedure was a success.

Kristin Houser

Sports

AI brings Vince Lombardi back to life for Super Bowl ad

Using face-swapping AI, the NFL has created a Super Bowl ad in which iconic coach Vince Lombardi delivers a message of unity 50 years after his death.

Kristin Houser

3D Printing

New 3D bioprinting technique creates bone with living cells

A new 3D bioprinting technique could let doctors print new bone containing living cells right inside a patient’s body.

Kristin Houser

Medicine

HIV drugs appear to prevent the #1 cause of vision loss in seniors

An HIV drug appears to prevent dry macular degeneration, suggesting that drug repurposing could be a viable strategy for treating the incurable disease.

Kristin Houser