Contributor

Kristin Houser

Staff Writer

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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.

Paleontology

Clues in woolly mammoth tusk reveal a lifetime of travels

Researchers have reconstructed the life of a woolly mammoth that lived more than 17,000 years ago by deciphering clues hidden in his tusk.

Kristin Houser

Apps

Pandemic prompts surge in food sharing, app says

Food-sharing app Olio is combating food insecurity by making it easy for those with extra food to get it into the hands of those in need.

Kristin Houser

3D Printing

3D-printed nuclear reactor parts installed at US plant

An Alabama power plant is now using 3D-printed nuclear reactor parts, a milestone that could shape the future of nuclear energy.

Kristin Houser

Female Leaders

The plea to save the Afghan girls robotics team from the Taliban

A human rights lawyer is trying to get the Afghan girls robotics team evacuated to Canada so its members can avoid living under Taliban rule.

Kristin Houser

Neuroscience

Implantable “neurograins” may be the key to mind-controlled tech

A new kind of brain-computer interface uses tiny neural implants called “neurograins” to record brain activity in rats.

Kristin Houser

Surgery

New organ coating could help prevent transplant rejection

A coating for donor organs that minimized the chance of transplant rejection in mice might one day eliminate the need for immunosuppressants.

Kristin Houser

Brain

Fecal transplants reverse aging in brains of old mice

Fecal transplants from younger to older mice appear to reverse aging in the brains of the seniors, improving their memories and cognition.

Kristin Houser

Coronavirus

New treatment may prevent heart damage from COVID-19

An experimental drug that stopped the coronavirus from entering cells in heart organoids may be able to prevent heart damage from COVID-19.

Kristin Houser

Memory

Hungry mice show why you should take study breaks

The spacing effect — a strange phenomenon by which you retain information more readily if you take study breaks — is now less of a mystery.

Kristin Houser

Asteroids

Psyche asteroid might not be a planetary core after all

The first high-res heat emissions map of the Psyche asteroid suggests the hunk of metal might not be the core of a developing planet.

Kristin Houser