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.

Aerospace

New thruster tech that vaporizes metal could help clean up space

Hypernova Space Technologies’ metal-fueled propulsion system for small satellites could be a game-changer for space exploration.

Kristin Houser

Homelessness

Nonprofit builds tiny houses for homeless people in backyards

Facing Homelessness builds tiny houses for homeless people in Seattle homeowners' backyards to address a shortage of affordable housing.

Kristin Houser

Transportation

You can now buy a flying car for $92,000

More than 150 companies are developing flying cars. Here's why they're aren't yet off the ground and darting across city skies.

Kristin Houser

Medicine

Preventative breast cancer vaccine enters human trials

A breast cancer vaccine entering human trials is designed to prevent triple-negative breast cancer — the deadliest, most aggressive form.

Kristin Houser

Coronavirus

Merck is making its COVID-19 antiviral pill more affordable to low-income countries

Drug maker Merck has agreed to license a promising antiviral pill to treat COVID-19 to low- and middle-income countries for free.

Kristin Houser

Coronavirus

You can now mix and match COVID-19 booster shots

Americans eligible for COVID-19 booster shots no longer need to stick to one brand. Here’s why that’s a big deal.

Kristin Houser

Coronavirus

FDA panel recommends COVID-19 vaccine for 5 to 11 year olds (Updated)

An FDA panel voted to authorize Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for kids ages 5 to 11. Here’s what you need to know about it.

Kristin Houser

Biology

Lizard regenerates perfect tail thanks to stem cells

A USC study that prompted lizards to regenerate tails that were “perfect” could help facilitate breakthroughs in human regeneration.

Kristin Houser

Asteroids

“Pulverize It”: The plan to slice and dice space rocks

To prevent asteroid impacts, UCSB physicists suggest we slice up the space rocks using arrays of “penetrator rods.”

Kristin Houser

Agriculture

New startup takes vertical farming underground — literally

GreenForges is building an underground farm it thinks will deliver the benefits of vertical farming without two of its major shortcomings.

Kristin Houser