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.

Astronomy

Radioactive plutonium from space found in Pacific Ocean

A rare form of plutonium has been discovered on Earth for the first time — and an exploding star appears to have helped it get here.

Kristin Houser

Inventions

Google unveils “magic window” for 3D video chat

Google’s Project Starline is a new 3D video chat technology designed to make online communication feel more like real life.

Kristin Houser

Genetics

Gene therapy appears to cure “bubble boy disease”

A new gene therapy designed to treat children with ADA-SCID, a form of “bubble boy disease,” was incredibly successful in trials.

Kristin Houser

Aerospace

China’s Mars rover nails landing

China’s Mars rover, Zhurong, has landed on the Red Planet, making China only the second nation to successfully land a rover on Mars.

Kristin Houser

Computer Science

IBM's faster, more powerful microchips

IBM has unveiled the world’s first 2-nanometer microchips, a breakthrough in chip technology that could lead to faster devices that require less energy.

Kristin Houser

Agriculture

The world’s first fully electric, self-driving tractor

Monarch Tractor’s all-electric, self-driving tractor could save farmers money, while also benefiting the environment.

Kristin Houser

Inventions

A “Lite-Brite” for DNA data storage

A new method for DNA data storage uses light-emitting strands of DNA to encode digital messages, eliminating the need for sequencing.

Kristin Houser

Astronomy

Volcanoes on Mars might still be active

New evidence suggests that volcanoes on Mars may have erupted just 50,000 years ago, far more recently than previously thought.

Kristin Houser

Genetics

Supercentenarians’ DNA reveals clues to human longevity

A human longevity study involving people over the age of 105 has found that genetic variants linked to DNA repair appear to contribute to a longer life.

Kristin Houser

Neuroscience

New brain-computer interface turns mental handwriting into text

A new brain-computer interface translated a paralyzed man’s “mental handwriting” into text on a computer screen.

Kristin Houser