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.

An artist's rendering of a carbon removal facility next to the ocean

Climate Crisis

This startup’s tech turns CO2 into seashell dust

UCLA spinout Equatic has developed a carbon removal technology that pulls CO2 from ocean water, generating hydrogen in the process.

Kristin Houser

Medicine

Drug for MS may be able to treat Alzheimer’s, too

A drug approved to treat multiple sclerosis reduced neuroinflammation and improved memory in mouse models of Alzheimer’s.

Kristin Houser

Two men conducting ISRU research in a spacecraft laboratory.

Aerospace

NASA finishes the first experiment to make oxygen on Mars

NASA has officially wrapped up the Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment (MOXIE), which was the first tech to generate oxygen on Mars.

Kristin Houser

A bright green, waffle-shaped hydrogel in a petri dish

Ecosystems

This “living material” self-destructs and cleans up polluted water

A 3D-printed “living material” packed with genetically engineered bacteria could be an eco-friendly way to clean up polluted water.

Kristin Houser

a close up of astrocytes, shown as red streaks, in the brains of mice

Neuroscience

Scientists discover a new kind of brain cell

A newly discovered brain cell that appears to be a hybrid of the two other primary types could shake up the world of neuroscience.

Kristin Houser

Addiction

New trials will test the ability of GLP-1 agonists, a popular class of weight-loss drugs, to help people beat addictions to drugs and alcohol.

Kristin Houser

Medicine

At least 5 people have been cured of HIV. Is the AIDS pandemic ending?

A handful of people have already been functionally cured of HIV — and new, universal cures are just on the horizon.

Kristin Houser

Medicine

New treatment slashes obesity in mice eating fatty, sugary diet

A new obesity treatment developed at UMass triggered weight loss in mice even as they continued to eat a diet high in fat and sugar.

Kristin Houser

an image of neurons next to a stylized image of the surface of the brain

Neuroscience

Transplants of lab-grown brain cells reduce Parkinson’s symptoms

Transplants of lab-grown dopamine neurons reduced the amount of time people experienced Parkinson’s symptoms in a small trial.

Kristin Houser

A man in a lab holding a beige, rectangular container with tubes extending from it

Medicine

Artificial kidney aces test in pigs

An artificial kidney prototype just aced a pig trial, bringing it closer to human trials — and a step closer to ending the need for dialysis.

Kristin Houser