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.

Astronomy

Space hurricane rains electrons down on North Pole

A space hurricane formed above the North Pole in 2014, marking the first discovery of the theorized — but never proven — extreme space weather event.

Kristin Houser

Computer Science

An easy-to-repair modular laptop is launching this summer

Framework has announced a new modular laptop that’s easy to repair and upgrade, which could make it last twice as long as the average laptop.

Kristin Houser

Sports

NFL hopefuls train with sensor-free athlete tracking tech

Intel’s new athlete tracking platform, 3DAT, can deliver performance insights without the use of potentially cumbersome sensors.

Kristin Houser

How to deepfake your grandparents' old photos

A new deepfake tool called Deep Nostalgia generates brief animations of faces in still photographs, breathing life into people’s old family portraits.

Kristin Houser

Languages

Neanderthals had the capacity for human communication

Neanderthals appear to have had the capacity to hear verbal language, suggesting that modern human communication has ancient roots.

Kristin Houser

Transportation

This mass-produced solar car costs just $25,900

The Aptera solar car is expected to hit roads in 2021, but even if it's not the next big thing in transportation, its design elements could be.

Kristin Houser

Robotics

MIT turned a robo-dog into a robot doctor

MIT converted a robo-dog built by Boston Dynamics into a robot doctor and then asked patients how they felt being treated by it.

Kristin Houser

Coronavirus

The pandemic is forcing sign language to evolve

Sign language users are adapting to the limitations of video conferencing platforms, which have become more popular due to the pandemic.

Kristin Houser

Surgery

Surgery robot could make hysterectomies less painful

The FDA has approved its first surgery robot for use during a vaginal hysterectomy, which is less invasive than the abdominal approach.

Kristin Houser

Aerospace

SpaceX Starship SN10 lands successfully — then blows up

SpaceX Starship SN10 successfully landed after a high-altitude test launch — a first for one of the massive rockets — but it blew up a few minutes later.

Kristin Houser