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.

Computer Science

US’s Frontier is the world’s first exascale supercomputer

The US Department of Energy’s Frontier system is the fastest supercomputer in the world and the first exascale computer ever.

Kristin Houser

Surgery

UK man receives double hand transplant to treat rare disease

UK surgeons have performed the world’s first double hand transplant to treat scleroderma, a rare autoimmune disease.

Kristin Houser

Drones

Walmart drone delivery now covers 4 million households

The Walmart drone delivery program is expanding from one state to six, bringing the service to as many as 4 million households.

Kristin Houser

Asteroids

We have a new way to hunt for potentially hazardous asteroids

To help protect Earth from potentially hazardous asteroids, astronomers developed an algorithm to look for them in existing datasets.

Kristin Houser

Memory

HIV drug could improve memory

The common HIV drug maraviroc improved memory linking in aging mice and might be able to help people experiencing memory loss, too.

Kristin Houser

Aerospace

World’s fastest passenger jet hits near-supersonic speeds

Aircraft manufacturer Bombardier has unveiled the Global 8000, the fastest private jet in the world with a max operating speed of 721 mph.

Kristin Houser

Healthcare

New tech could help prevent 2/3 of hospital-acquired infections

A new treatment could prevent hospital-acquired infections by making it hard for biofilms to form on implanted medical devices.

Kristin Houser

Clean Energy

A massive kite is now generating carbon-free electricity

Airborne wind energy systems put turbines in the sky, where the wind tends to blow faster and more consistently.

Kristin Houser

CRISPR

First CRISPR’d cockroaches open door to other gene-edited insects

It’s now easier for scientists to create gene-edited insects thanks to a new technique called “direct parental CRISPR.”

Kristin Houser

Clean Energy

IKEA will now sell solar panels

Furniture retailer IKEA will begin selling home solar solutions to US customers to encourage sustainable living.

Kristin Houser