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.

a graphic of a person lifting weights, alongside with a fitness score they'd receive at Lumin's smart gym

See inside a first-of-its-kind smart gym, staffed by AI personal trainers

Lumin Fitness's first-of-its-kind smart gym in Texas features AI trainers, motion-tracking sensors, and “gamified” classes.

Kristin Houser

Two chickens facing one another. The one on the right has been genetically modified to protect against avian flu.

CRISPR

CRISPR protects 9 out of 10 chickens from bird flu

UK scientists have used CRISPR to create gene-edited chickens that are highly resistant to the avian flu virus.

Kristin Houser

Asteroids

NASA’s asteroid sample contains an abundance of carbon and water

On October 11, NASA shared its first update on the Bennu asteroid sample brought to Earth by the OSIRIS-REx mission.

Kristin Houser

A modern kitchen with stainless steel cabinets and shelves featuring a Chipotle robot.

Robotics

Chipotle’s new robot can make your burrito bowl or salad

Chipotle is testing a new robot that makes burrito bowls and salads under the same table where employees fill orders.

Kristin Houser

An autonomous cargo plane flying through the clouds.

Aerospace

This massive autonomous cargo plane could slash shipping costs

A UK startup has an ambitious plan to slash the cost of air freight by shipping goods in a massive autonomous cargo plane.

Kristin Houser

a brightly colored microscope image of an immune cell ingesting MRSA

Vaccines

New superbug vaccine turns the immune system into “the Hulk”

A superbug vaccine that temporarily puts the immune system on high alert could reduce the number of hospital-associated infections.

Kristin Houser

an image of a cell infected with COVID-19

Coronavirus

Where are the universal coronavirus vaccines?

Universal coronavirus vaccines that protect against all known variants of COVID-19 — and ones that don't exist yet — are closer than ever.

Kristin Houser

An illustration showing the eight wells of the Lattice device for drug development

Medicine

New “Lattice” device tests drugs on eight organs at once

Northwestern University scientists have developed a device that simulates up to eight organs at once to aid drug development.

Kristin Houser

an illustration of the unmodified and modified AsCas12f enzymes

CRISPR

New CRISPR system is 66% smaller but just as powerful

A new CRISPR system is just as efficient as CRISPR-Cas9 but much smaller, which could make it easier to deploy in people.

Kristin Houser

A person is holding the sensor for health monitoring near a pair of earbuds

Wearables

These earbuds analyze brain activity and sweat content

A flexible sensor turns a pair of earbuds into a health monitoring device capable of recording brain activity and analyzing sweat.

Kristin Houser