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.

an illustration of a cholesterol particle on a colorful background

CRISPR

CRISPR tool slashes bad cholesterol by 56% in monkeys

Tune Therapeutics has successfully lowered the cholesterol levels of monkeys using a version of CRISPR that doesn’t permanently alter DNA.

Kristin Houser

a female-presenting person wearing headphones while lying in bed. her eyes are closed.

AI is already making “functional music” for major label artists

UMG has teamed up with an AI startup to turn its artists’ music into “soundscapes” designed to help listeners sleep, focus, and more.

Kristin Houser

Transportation

Fully self-driving cars are finally available on Uber

Uber has teamed up with robotaxi operator Waymo to make rides in fully autonomous cars available to its customers.

Kristin Houser

an illustration of a radio telescope in a lunar crater

Aerospace

A massive moon telescope could solve the mystery of the “Cosmic Dark Ages”

NASA hopes a massive radio telescope on the moon will be able to reveal what was happening during the mysterious “Cosmic Dark Ages."

Kristin Houser

a man using a walker to take steps in an outdoor settin

Neuroscience

Paralyzed man walks again using only his thoughts

A man with paralyzed legs is walking again thanks to a “digital bridge” between his brain and a spinal stimulator.

Kristin Houser

an illustration of cancer cells floating alongside blood cells

Medicine

This “bridge” between chemo and cancer solves a big problem for treatment

To improve leukemia treatment, Australian researchers have created a bispecific antibody that connects chemo drugs to cancer cells.

Kristin Houser

a massive airplane mid-flight. a smaller hypersonic aircraft is attached to its underside

Aerospace

Watch the world’s largest plane drop a hypersonic aircraft

Aerospace company Stratolaunch has dropped a hypersonic aircraft from its record-breaking Roc launch platform for the first time.

Kristin Houser

Genetics

New kind of chicken lays eggs that don’t have allergy protein

Newly created gene-edited hens lay eggs without ovomucoid, the protein most likely to trigger an egg allergy.

Kristin Houser

an illustration of a planet covered in active volcanoes

Astronomy

Astronomers find Earth-sized planet covered in volcanoes

An Earth-sized exoplanet 90 light years away may be covered in active volcanoes — and home to extraterrestrial life.

Kristin Houser

a woman with a medical device near her head

Mental Health

Depression treatment reverses “backwards” brain signals

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) appears to relieve depression by correcting brain signals that are traveling the wrong direction.

Kristin Houser