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.

Aerospace

NASA and ESA are racing to bring GPS to the moon

Two upcoming space missions by NASA and ESA could help bring satellite navigation (satnav) to the moon and cislunar space.

Kristin Houser

Biology

Artificial penis tissue restores erections in injured pigs

Artificial penis tissue that restored erections in injured pigs might one day do the same for people with erectile dysfunction.

Kristin Houser

Medicine

Mother’s mitochondria used to treat her child’s rare genetic disorder

A new therapy that treats children with rare mtDNA mutations using mitochondria sourced from their mothers has now been tested in patients.

Kristin Houser

Food

Krispy Kreme donuts to be filled, frosted, and packaged by machines

Donut company Krispy Kreme is investing in automated systems to take over functions currently completed by human workers.

Kristin Houser

Robotics

Sophia the robot talks Elon Musk, climate change, and more

Celebrity humanoid Sophia the robot shares her “thoughts” on climate change, Elon Musk, and more with Freethink.

Kristin Houser

Medicine

New stem cell patches could repair babies’ heart defects permanently

Stem cell patches under development in the UK might allow surgeons to permanently repair infants congenital heart defects.

Kristin Houser

Robotics

McDonald’s opens its first automated restaurant in Texas

McDonald’s has opened a new highly automated restaurant, giving customers a first look at the potential future of fast food.

Kristin Houser

Robotics

Sophia the robot becomes first humanoid to be signed by a gaming org

Sophia the robot has signed to XSET, a gaming organization and lifestyle brand focused on diversity and inclusion.

Kristin Houser

Art

World’s highest-res pictures of snowflakes combine art and tech

Former Microsoft CTO Nathan Myhrvold custom built a camera system to take the world’s highest-resolution pictures of snowflakes.

Kristin Houser

Aerospace

The 12 most exciting space missions of 2023

2023 will see the launch of new rockets, the return of OSIRIS-REx, and a mission to Jupiter that could help us find extraterrestrial life.

Kristin Houser