Overview: This book tells the true story of how a healthcare start-up was intent on taking medical tests from a single fingerprick of blood. However, their technology couldn’t actually do what it promised. This book is written by the Wall Street Journal journalist who eventually presented the truth to the world.

• HBO Documentary – The Inventor
• Podcast – The Dropout

Science Rating: Easy enough to understand for high school level science classes or anyone who has had a blood test done. The story makes it clear that what was happening in the company ethically was wrong, so understanding scientifically what was wrong isn’t too important. And for anyone wanting to go deeper into the science, the details aren’t really explained.

Who should read it:

• Anyone who loves to hear stories about the crazy things humans do
• Business people who don’t know much about biology
• Biologists who don’t know much about business
• Anyone who shops at Safeway, Walgreens, or another supplier who could be selling you healthcare products
• Anyone interested in the disputes of Silicon Valley billionaires

What to know before reading: You don’t need to know much about the startup, the science, or business before reading. In fact, I think it is best to go in a little naive. Then, after you finish the book, check out some other content about Theranos. Once you know the story, this all seems more creepy.

• Elizabeth Holmes’ TEDMED Talk from 2014
• Glamour magazine article I remember reading about Elizabeth Holmes in 2015
• Theranos Marketing and Employee Films

What it made me think about science: This book showed the clash that can often occur between science and business (especially start-ups). Pitching investors is about selling an idea through promises and predictions about future impact whereas science often waits for data on that impact before “selling” the idea. This conflict between business and science doesn’t have to be envisioned and often that conflict hurts science. In a lot of science research, we are doing work to help society whether by making new useful materials or formulating medicinal drugs. If there aren’t companies who can actual manufacture and sell those products though, they research will just sit in our academic papers and never be useful to society. Good, science-minded companies do exist. Theranos’ story should be a warning to scientists, investors, and the public, but should not be a death sentence for the mixture of science and business.

The book isn’t all venture capital fear-mongering. The first half of the book spotlights the scientists, engineers, and data-minded business people who had misgivings about the company. The reminder that people are able to think for themselves and speak up about it is an idea that shouldn’t be underappreciated or forgotten. These are main tenets we are taught in science programs and this book is a reminder that those are important for not just scientists, but for all people. Yes, it took a long time and a journalist’s investigation for those misgivings to have true impact, but their existence was one of the reasons the truth could come out. While one person could be easy to explain away, multiple accounts add credibility to the claim. This book can be a reminder to scientists to continue thinking for ourselves, checking our work, and speaking up about misconduct.