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.

Digital price tags auto-discount groceries to avoid food waste

A startup called Wasteless uses dynamic pricing and electronic shelf labels to help minimize food waste at grocery stores.

Kristin Houser

YouTuber builds VR gloves for just $22

YouTuber Lucas VRTech developed a pair of open source, finger-tracking VR gloves that cost just $22 in materials.

Kristin Houser

Inhaled asthma drug accelerates COVID-19 recovery at home

Budesonide — a cheap, inhaled asthma drug that can be self-administered — appears to shorten at-risk COVID-19 patients’ recovery times.

Kristin Houser

Muon particle’s “wobble” appears to break the laws of physics

The muon, a fundamental particle nicknamed the “fat electron,” has physicists questioning the standard model of particle physics.

Kristin Houser

Aerospace

This startup’s goal is to be the “Henry Ford of space”

The startup Phantom Space is using other manufacturers’ parts to build its rockets, rather than developing them in-house like most space companies.

Kristin Houser

The world's whitest paint can cool your house — and the Earth

The whitest white paint reflects up to 98.1% of sunlight, which could make it useful for cooling homes in place of energy-hogging air conditioners.

Kristin Houser

Hologram pizzeria brings virtual happy hour to a new level

Virgin Media’s hologram dining experience, Two Hearts Pizzeria, let people feel like they were sharing a meal with loved ones located in another city.

Kristin Houser

Video game reveals your “soft skills” to potential employers

The Scoutible app reveals job candidates’ soft skills, which often don’t translate through resumes and interviews but are essential for success.

Kristin Houser

App helps families know what to do when someone dies

The Empathy app is designed to help grieving families know what to do when someone dies and then actually guide them through the tasks, step by step.

Kristin Houser

Human hair makes perovskite solar cells more efficient

Perovskite solar cells featuring a layer of carbon nanodots made from human hair were more efficient and stable than those without the dots.

Kristin Houser