“A chemistry is performed so that a chemical reaction occurs…”

A chemistry is performed so that a chemical reaction occurs and generates a signal from the chemical interaction with the sample, which is translated into a result, which is then reviewed by certified laboratory personnel.

Just finished Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by Wall Street Journal investigative reporter John Carryrou. Carryrou traces the rise and fall of Theranos and its founder Elizabeth Holmes from the company’s beginnings at Stanford, to Holmes becoming the young female darling of Silicon Valley, to his own exposé and followup articles in the Journal.

It is WILD. As I was reading it I kept thinking “surely 💩 has to hit the fan soon?” but it just keeps. getting. worse.

This “thriller with a tragic ending” outlines Theranos as a con of the biggest possible proportions, and one with seriously dire consequences. This was not your normal webby startup, it was a healthcare company whose core premise was to revolutionise the way that diseases were diagnosed and treated. So much of what went wrong is a consequence of pride, of not being able to admit being wrong. They dug themselves in to a hole, and it seems that many are still digging.

The Elizabeth Holmes / Theranos saga continues, and the book has been optioned for a movie. Will be interesting to see how that plays out.