Contributor

Kristin Houser

Staff Writer

Contact

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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.

Coronavirus

Pfizer’s shot is the first FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccine

Pfizer’s shot has become the first FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccine, making the transition from emergency use authorization on August 23.

Kristin Houser

Clean Energy

Nuclear fusion experiment puts ignition within our grasp (Updated)

Scientists appear on the brink of achieving nuclear fusion ignition, bringing the dream of near-limitless clean energy closer to fruition.

Kristin Houser

Asteroids

NASA updates the odds on Bennu asteroid hitting Earth

Using data from the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, NASA has updated its predictions about the Bennu asteroid impacting Earth.

Kristin Houser

Food

Cultured meat for pets is about to hit store shelves

Biotech startup Because, Animals is creating cultured meat for pets, using mouse cells to grow the meat found in its new cat treat.

Kristin Houser

Startups

A startup is stuffing teddy bears with recycled cigarette butts

Indian startup CODE Effort has developed a process for recycling cigarette butts, the world’s most littered objects.

Kristin Houser

Oceans

Emergency sea otters needed to save California’s kelp forests

A conservationist suggests relocating sea otters to Northern California to eat the sea urchins destroying the coast’s vital kelp forests.

Kristin Houser

AI avatars bring deepfakes to the business world

A financial consulting firm has created AI avatars of its staff that can be used to quickly create deepfakes for presentations and more.

Kristin Houser

Robotics

Ford replaces humans with robot test drivers

Ford Motor Company has built a pair of robot test drivers to fill in for humans during dangerous endurance tests at its Weather Factory.

Kristin Houser

Activism

GoFundMe to help people leave Afghanistan raises $6 million

A GoFundMe campaign has raised millions of dollars to help people leave Afghanistan in the wake of a Taliban takeover.

Kristin Houser

Astronomy

Astronomers catch “ghosts” dancing around radio galaxies

Astronomers with the EMU Project have released a spooky image of “dancing ghosts” emanating from a pair of distant radio galaxies.

Kristin Houser