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.

CRISPR

CRISPR sausage gets FDA green light for consumption

The FDA has given Washington State University researchers the green light to feed five gene-edited pigs to people.

Kristin Houser

the exterior of a Wendy's restaurant at night

Wendy’s has a chatbot taking drive-thru orders

A Google-trained chatbot has begun taking orders at a Wendy’s drive-thru, and if a pilot test goes well, the AI could be rolled out widely.

Kristin Houser

a microscopic image of a retina. It looks like an orange circle, with red blood vessels

Medicine

New gene therapy could reverse a common cause of blindness

A new study suggests we may be able to convert dormant eye cells into photoreceptors to reverse retinal degeneration.

Kristin Houser

a rendering of a building in a soccer stadium taking up about one-fourth of the pitch

Clean Energy

Westinghouse’s small nuclear reactor could power the future

Westinghouse Electric Company has unveiled a small nuclear reactor based on the same tech as a larger reactor already in operation.

Kristin Houser

a closeup of a tiny LED in the middle of a microchip

Computer Science

MIT breakthrough creates world’s smallest holographic microscope

The world’s smallest holographic microscope foreshadows a future in which smartphones could be used for high-res microscopy.

Kristin Houser

A cancer patient's hand is comforting another person's hand.

Healthcare

AI helps terminal cancer patients make the most of their final days

An AI that encourages doctors to talk to cancer patients about their end-of-life care impacts how they choose to live out their final days.

Kristin Houser

a scientist looking at a test tube of water

Inventions

New tech permanently destroys “forever chemicals” in water

Canadian researchers' new treatment removes 99% of the harmful “forever chemicals” in water cheaply, safely, and permanently.

Kristin Houser

a colorful illustration of a strand of mrna

Medicine

AI dramatically improved mRNA vaccines in just 11 minutes

A new AI tool can find the most stable mRNA sequence for a vaccine, leading to more effective shots that are less prone to degradation.

Kristin Houser

a woman lifting a VR headset off her eyes and holding her temples like she has a headache

Listening to the right tunes can prevent motion sickness in VR

Playing “joyful” music can reduce the symptoms of cybersickness from VR, according to a small study out of Scotland.

Kristin Houser

an older man receiving a vaccine in his arm

Medicine

World’s first vaccine for RSV approved in the US

The FDA has approved the world’s first vaccine for RSV, a potentially deadly viral infection that has long eluded vaccination.

Kristin Houser