Contributor

Kristin Houser

Staff Writer

Contact

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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.

Fixing Justice

Volunteers build first nationwide database of police records

Thousands of volunteers are data scraping public websites to compile police records into a single national database for researchers to mine.

Kristin Houser

Coronavirus

New air filter for COVID-19 could lower risk of being indoors

A new air filter for COVID-19 heats up to nearly 400 degrees Fahrenheit to kill the coronavirus in aerosols.

Kristin Houser

Mental Health

New algorithm gives trauma survivors a "PTSD risk score"

A newly developed algorithm calculates a "PTSD Risk Score" for people seeking treatment for traumatic injuries.

Kristin Houser

Coronavirus

Is the coronavirus airborne, and does it matter?

Is the coronavirus airborne? More than 200 scientists have told the WHO that yes, it’s likely the coronavirus spreads through aerosols.

Kristin Houser

Medicine

Microdosing marijuana can relieve chronic pain

Microdosing marijuana can relieve chronic pain without impairing a person’s ability to think clearly, according to a new study.

Kristin Houser

Surgery

A new way to heal badly broken bones with electrical stimulation

A new bone scaffold delivers electrical stimulation to broken bones, speeds up the healing process, and then simply dissolves into the body.

Kristin Houser

Food

3D-printed vegan steak is heading to restaurants in 2020

Israeli startup Redefine Meat has announced the Alt-Steak, a plant-based vegan steak that it claims mimics the texture and taste of beef.

Kristin Houser

Coronavirus

New images reveal which type of face mask is the best

To find out which type of face mask is the best, researchers rigged a mannequin’s head to a fog machine and then tested four masks on it.

Kristin Houser

Coronavirus

Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine produces more antibodies than the disease itself

Early data shows Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine produces immunity as good as, or better than, recovery from the virus.

Kristin Houser

Coronavirus

A guide to flying during the coronavirus pandemic

Flying during the coronavirus pandemic can increase your infection risk, but if you can't avoid it, here’s how to do so as safely as possible.

Kristin Houser