--- title: "We’re Losing It at Elizabeth Holmes’ Excuse for Why Theranos Results Made No Sense" description: "In spite of running a healthtech company, Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes apparently didn't understand how prostates work." date: "2021-11-10" modified: "2021-11-11" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/elizabeth-holmes-theranos-problems" categories: - "Health & Medicine" - "Prosthetics and Devices" tags: - "elizabeth holmes" - "health" - "the digest" - "theranos" --- # We’re Losing It at Elizabeth Holmes’ Excuse for Why Theranos Results Made No Sense ![In spite of running a healthtech company, Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes apparently didn't understand how prostates work.]() *\Image: Getty Images\* ## Prostate Secrets In spite of running a healthtech company, the now-infamous Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes was apparently hazy on prostate physiology. This revelation, [as pointed out by *The Verge*](), comes during Holmes' federal trial in which she was accused of defrauding investors. During his testimony on Tuesday, former Theranos lab director Kingshuk Das said that when he told Holmes that the company's devices repeatedly showed prostate antigens in presumably-cisgender women — who, as a gentle refresher, [do not typically have prostate glands]() — the company's founder insisted that the women must have had a rare form of breast cancer. Sure, it sounds like the twist in a "House MD" episode. But Das told prosecutors in the *US v. Elizabeth Holmes* case that the "alternative explanation" the Theranos founder provided "seemed implausible." https://twitter.com/TomMcIlroy/status/1458297079592210438 ## Parade of Fools As *The Verge*'s Elizabeth Lopatto mused, Das was one of "a parade of experts we’ve heard from in this trial, who it seems were hired primarily to be ignored." He was one in a line of "several lab directors," the writer noted, who had been brought in to fix problems with the company's ineffectual technology. Like most of his predecessors, including Theranos whistleblower Adam Rosendorff, Das soon learned that Holmes was not going to allow him to do his job properly. The defense's primary case, as *The Verge* and [other]() [publications]() have reported, hinges on whether or not Holmes' was intentionally misleading her investors — or whether she was ignorant of the [mountain]() of [technical BS]() on which she built her company. And honestly, it's hard to tell which is worse. ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()