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.

Neuroscience

Experimental procedure zaps nerves to lower blood pressure

Renal denervation, a procedure that uses ultrasound pulses to zap renal nerves, showed promise as a treatment for resistant hypertension in a recent trial.

Kristin Houser

Fertility

Sperm may play a bigger role in pregnancy than we thought

Sperm appear to play a bigger role in pregnancy than previously believed, not only fertilizing the egg, but also “persuading” the female body to accept it.

Kristin Houser

Brain

Old dogs are helping scientists combat human aging

By studying donated tissues stored in a pet dog biobank, researchers have uncovered a genetic link between brain aging in canines and humans.

Kristin Houser

Entertainment

AI dubbing can make actors appear to speak any language

A new AI dubbing tech called TrueSync matches actors’ mouths with recorded dialogue to make watching a movie in an unknown language feel less jarring.

Kristin Houser

Transportation

Ford unveils its first electric pickup truck

Ford’s first electric truck, the F-150 Lightning, has the potential to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles in the U.S.

Kristin Houser

Food

These shelf-stable French fries last 90 days at room temp

Startup Farther Farms has developed a pasteurization process that allowed it to create shelf-stable French fries that last 90 days at room temperature.

Kristin Houser

Coronavirus

Your incentives to get the COVID-19 vaccine

If protection against a potentially deadly virus isn’t enough, there are these added incentives to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

Kristin Houser

Clean Energy

New solid-state lithium battery can be recharged 10,000 times

Harvard University researchers have developed a solid-state lithium battery they believe could allow electric vehicles to last 10 to 15 years.

Kristin Houser

Astronomy

Radioactive plutonium from space found in Pacific Ocean

A rare form of plutonium has been discovered on Earth for the first time — and an exploding star appears to have helped it get here.

Kristin Houser

Inventions

Google unveils “magic window” for 3D video chat

Google’s Project Starline is a new 3D video chat technology designed to make online communication feel more like real life.

Kristin Houser