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 plans to put a nuclear reactor on the moon by 2031

NASA and the Department of Energy are asking U.S. companies for help putting a nuclear reactor on the moon by 2031.

Kristin Houser

Aerospace

Bullet-shaped plane promises to slash air travel costs

Otto Aviation has finished phase 1 flight testing of its Celera 500L, a highly efficient airplane that could cut the cost of air travel.

Kristin Houser

Agriculture

Self-driving electric tractor startup to boost production eight-fold

California startup Monarch Tractor has raised $61 million to increase production of its self-driving electric tractor.

Kristin Houser

Medicine

How a BBQ lighter can make DNA vaccines more powerful

Georgia Tech researchers turned a BBQ lighter into a delivery system that uses electricity to boost the potency of DNA vaccines.

Kristin Houser

Astronomy

See the surface of the sun evolve in stunning time lapse

A stunning time lapse of the surface of the sun created using NASA images shows the activity that occurs over the course of just one month.

Kristin Houser

Drones

Delivery drones are now dropping off packages for Walmart

Walmart is now using Zipline delivery drones to get products to customers in Arkansas, previewing the future of on-demand delivery.

Kristin Houser

Education

Traditional colleges are recognizing Google career certificates

Google career certificates are now being accepted for college credit at some universities, helping students obtain degrees more cheaply.

Kristin Houser

Agriculture

Agrivoltaics let farmland serve double duty

Agrivoltaics combines farming with renewable energy, using the shade of solar panels to help plants thrive in a changing climate.

Kristin Houser

Climate Crisis

Students get $5 million from Elon Musk for carbon-removal ideas

An Elon Musk-funded XPrize competition has given teams of students $5 million to develop ideas for carbon removal systems.

Kristin Houser

Robotics

Vaccine robot administers doses without needles or human help

Canadian startup Cobioni has built a vaccine robot that can deliver a dose into a patient’s arm without a needle or any human help.

Kristin Houser