Contributor

Kristin Houser

Staff Writer

Contact

[email protected]

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.

electron beam welding being employed on a metal tube

Clean Energy

How electron beams could jumpstart the nuclear industry

Electron beam welding could accelerate manufacturing of small modular reactors, helping make nuclear power a part of our clean energy future.

Kristin Houser

A person's hands typing on a keyboard. The scene is illuminated with a green light.

Nvidia’s free tool lets you create your own chatbot right on your PC

Nvidia’s Chat with RTX tool lets you create a custom chatbot that runs locally on your PC and can answer questions about your personal files.

Kristin Houser

A woman is working with one of NASA's space robots as it builds a structure

Aerospace

NASA tests autonomous space robots for off-world construction

NASA is developing autonomous space robots to build shelters, solar arrays, and more on the moon and Mars.

Kristin Houser

A vibrant red sand dune in the desert with a blue sky

Climate Crisis

Mega solar farms could make it rain in deserts

A new study suggests that gigantic solar farms could be used to create “heat islands” that make rain locally.

Kristin Houser

stylized grains of rice colored blue and red

Food

Korean scientists grow beef inside of rice

By growing cow cells inside rice, Korean researchers boosted its protein content by 8%, without substantially increasing its cost.

Kristin Houser

Aerospace

T-Minus: SpaceX launches PACE, new ocean moon discovered, and more

Freethink's weekly countdown of the biggest space news, featuring the launch of PACE, the discovery of Mimas' ocean, and more.

Kristin Houser

A glowing green plant is illuminated against a black background, creating a mesmerizing scene.

Genetics

Bioluminescent plants don’t exist in nature — but you can buy one for $29

Biotech firm Light Bio is selling gene-edited bioluminescent plants that glow green in the dark for just $29.

Kristin Houser

Microscope view of human skin treated with a short interfering RNA (siRNA) drug

Medicine

New pharma supergroup aims to tackle skin disorders

Six biotech companies just merged to form Alys Pharmaceuticals with the goal of developing new treatments for skin disorders.

Kristin Houser

an illustration of two people fighting, but their bodies are made entirely of cells as seen under a microscope.

Cancer

Scientists stole a mutation from cancer and used it to kill tumors

Inserting a mutation found in cancer cells into CAR-T cells enabled them to kill a variety of solid tumors in mice.

Kristin Houser

Brain

Injections of brain protein reverse memory loss in mice

A protein called “KIBRA” could be the key to new Alzheimer’s treatments that don’t just slow disease progression, but reverse memory loss.

Kristin Houser