Elizabeth Holmes promised the world a medical revolution.
At 19, she claimed to have invented a miniaturised machine that with a single drop of blood could map a person’s health quickly, reliably and cheaply. She boasted that her technology meant serious diseases like cancer would be prevented before they happened.
And it was not only a “wow” moment for patients. High-profile investors rushed to pour a fortune into Holmes’ company, Theranos, and she became Silicon Valley’s first self-made female billionaire.
But as Tara Brown reports, her invention was an invention – it simply didn’t work. Elizabeth Holmes is no visionary. She’s a cruel fraudster who has put people’s lives at risk, and because of that, now faces 20 years in jail.
Reporter: Tara Brown – Producer: Naomi Shivaraman
THE YOUNG ONES
It seems a lifetime ago, but back in the early days of the pandemic last year the overriding concern about the virus was that it predominantly attacked older people.
However, with the Delta strain running rampant and vaccination rates still low, it’s the under-40s who are now suffering. In the hotspots of New South Wales and Queensland, they make up the majority of new COVID infections.
And it includes a frightening number of school children, which is particularly alarming for researchers who predict young ones will be scarred by this disease for decades to come.
Reporter: Tom Steinfort – Producers: Natalie Clancy, Sammi Taylor, Sheree Gibson