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.

Coronavirus

Inhaled vaccine for coronavirus moves to human trials

An inhaled vaccine now moving into human trials could protect people from more than just the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

Kristin Houser

Bionics

Robot fish are powered by lab-grown human heart cells

A robot fish that uses human heart cells to swim has put scientists one step closer to growing full-size hearts in the lab.

Kristin Houser

Autonomous Black Hawk helicopter flies without a crew

The U.S. Army has given a Black Hawk helicopter the ability to complete an autonomous flight without any humans on board.

Kristin Houser

Inventions

New synthetic tooth enamel is stronger than the natural kind

A synthetic tooth enamel that outperformed the natural kind in strength and durability tests could have applications beyond dentists' offices.

Kristin Houser

Clean Energy

Fusion reactor breaks 24-year-old nuclear record

A new record set by the world’s largest nuclear fusion reactor is giving researchers confidence we’re on the path to usable fusion energy.

Kristin Houser

Robotics

Robot dogs are hiking the Alps and preparing for space

A robot dog reached the summit of an Alps trail more quickly than the average human — and the mechanical K9s are just getting started.

Kristin Houser

Robotics

Shape-shifting material morphs robot from driving to flying

A shape-shifting material lets multifunctional robots morph from one shape to the next quickly and without the use of motors.

Kristin Houser

Bionics

Bionic pacemaker causes heart to beat irregularly — on purpose

A new bionic pacemaker improved blood flow in animal studies by using the lungs to reintroduce lost heart rate variability.

Kristin Houser

Genetics

New breed of pig will provide organs for human transplantation

German researchers are breeding a new type of pig that’s been genetically modified to have organs ideal for human transplantation.

Kristin Houser

Aerospace

NASA gets first images from James Webb telescope

NASA has shared the James Webb Space Telescope’s first images, and so far, it looks like the epic spacecraft is working exactly as hoped.

Kristin Houser