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.

Clean Energy

First small modular nuclear reactor certified in US

The US’s first certification of a small modular reactor design could lead to cheaper, safer nuclear power plants.

Kristin Houser

3D Printing

Two-story 3D-printed house is first of its kind in the US

The US’s first two-story 3D-printed house is being built in Houston, Texas, from a mix of concrete and wood.

Kristin Houser

Transportation

Startup’s bladeless flying car is designed to reach Mach 0.8

Jetoptera is designing quieter, safer vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) vehicles with bladeless propulsion systems.

Kristin Houser

Coronavirus

New mRNA vaccine factory is made from shipping containers

BioNTech is sending a modular mRNA vaccine factory that can produce 50 million COVID-19 vaccines annually to Africa.

Kristin Houser

Transportation

MIT grads unveil the world’s first ammonia-powered semi truck

Amogy, a startup founded by four MIT grads, has unveiled an ammonia-powered semi truck that can be refueled in just eight minutes.

Kristin Houser

Astronomy

NASA announces alien-hunting Habitable Worlds Observatory

NASA has announced that it is developing the Habitable Worlds Observatory, a new space telescope optimized to hunt for extraterrestrial life.

Kristin Houser

CRISPR

Scientists use CRISPR to add an alligator gene into catfish

By using CRISPR to insert an alligator gene into catfish, Alabama scientists radically increased their disease resistance.

Kristin Houser

Transportation

Mercedes-Benz wins race to bring Level 3 autonomous cars to US

Mercedes-Benz has permission to deploy its Level 3 autonomous driving system, DRIVE PILOT, in Nevada, and California could soon follow.

Kristin Houser

Medicine

Particles packed with mRNA reduce wrinkles in mice

A new delivery method for mRNA therapies could open the doors to better treatments for aging, cancer, and more.

Kristin Houser

Engineering

World’s largest plane sets new flight record

A new test flight puts the world’s largest plane one step closer to helping the US develop — and respond to — hypersonic weapons.

Kristin Houser