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

Toyota is building a “Lunar Cruiser” for Japan

Toyota's pressurized moon rover, the “Lunar Cruiser,” could help astronauts live on the moon — and help us combat climate change on Earth.

Kristin Houser

Aerospace

New space plane would fly directly into orbit from a runway

Radian Aerospace is building a first-of-its-kind space plane that flies directly into orbit after taking off horizontally from the ground.

Kristin Houser

Robotics

Surgery robot outperforms humans at “keyhole surgery”

Johns Hopkins' autonomous surgery robot, STAR, performed a tricky keyhole surgery on live pigs better than a human surgeon could.

Kristin Houser

Biology

“BioDome” triggers near-complete limb regeneration in frogs

A new limb regeneration treatment allowed adult African clawed frogs to regrow near-complete functional legs following amputation.

Kristin Houser

Robotics

Boston Dynamics’ warehouse robots are taking over

DHL Supply Chain is paying Boston Dynamics $15 million for a fleet of its autonomous warehouse robots, which can each move 800 boxes/hour.

Kristin Houser

Transportation

Flying “AirCar” cleared for takeoff in the EU

The AirCar — a car-airplane hybrid vehicle with a 600+ mile range — is now officially “airworthy” in the European Union.

Kristin Houser

Genetics

Gene therapy shows promise at treating severe form of epilepsy

A new Dravet syndrome treatment that targets genes could help extend the lives of people with the rare, but severe form of epilepsy.

Kristin Houser

Animals

Green lights reduce bycatch in fishing nets by 63%

Adding green LEDs to gillnets can reduce bycatch of sharks, turtles, and other animals without affecting the catch of desired species.

Kristin Houser

Inventions

Flexible device hugs pipes, turning waste heat into electricity

Penn State researchers have developed a thermoelectric generator that efficiently converts waste heat into electricity.

Kristin Houser

Medicine

Mark Cuban launches online pharmacy to cut drug prices

Billionaire investor Mark Cuban has launched an online pharmacy designed to cut the cost of generic drugs by as much as 99%.

Kristin Houser