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.

Robotics

Target is now offering the world’s first “robot manicure”

A robot that uses AI and 3D cameras to paint fingernails is now giving Target customers 10-minute manicures for just $8.

Kristin Houser

Inventions

New wireless charging works from nearly 100 feet away

A compact wireless charging system uses harmless infrared light to power devices from nearly 100 feet away.

Kristin Houser

Medicine

Breakthrough drug could save hundreds of thousands of children’s lives

A booster dose of the University of Oxford’s malaria vaccine demonstrated up to 80% efficacy in children over a year of follow-up.

Kristin Houser

Medicine

First-of-its-kind trial will attempt to grow mini livers in people

A new treatment that could turn a single donor liver into “mini livers” capable of saving 75 or more lives is heading into human trials.

Kristin Houser

Aerospace

SpaceX’s high-speed internet service is heading to sea

SpaceX’s Starlink Maritime internet service will soon be available to passengers on all Royal Caribbean Group cruise ships.

Kristin Houser

Astronomy

NASA’s James Webb takes its first direct image of an exoplanet

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has directly observed an exoplanet for the first time — ushering in a new era of exoplanet research

Kristin Houser

Wearables

Shoe wearable could help Parkinson’s patients avoid falling

Data-collecting sensors in shoes can predict a Parkinson’s patient’s fall risk almost as accurately as standard walking tests.

Kristin Houser

Medicine

Insulin pills could end the need for painful injections

Insulin pills designed to be dissolved in the mouth appear to overcome a major hurdle holding back the development of oral insulin.

Kristin Houser

First-of-its-kind trial shows AI beat humans at analyzing heart scans

Echonet, an AI trained to assess a measure of heart function, has outperformed trained technicians in both accuracy and efficiency.

Kristin Houser

Transportation

Optimized charging powers EV batteries to 90% in 10 minutes

Tomorrow's electric vehicles could charge far more quickly thanks to optimized charging methods and innovative battery designs.

Kristin Houser