Diagnostic Tests: Disruption's a-Coming

29-year-old Stanford dropout Elizabeth Holmes "could upend the industry of laboratory testing and might change the way we detect and treat disease." Her company, Palo Alto-based Theranos, creates

devices that automate and miniaturize more than 1,000 laboratory tests, from routine blood work to advanced genetic analyses. Theranos's processes are faster, cheaper and more accurate than the conventional methods and require only microscopic blood volumes, not vial after vial of the stuff.

We have commented on the project triangle before. The very rare innovations that are faster, cheaper, and better have been known to trigger disruption across broad swaths of the economy.

By extracting a few drops, not vials, of blood, instantly analyzing them, and charging much less for its service than a standard lab, Ms. Holmes' company threatens a vast industry that performs "6.8 billion lab tests annually in the U.S."

1) It does seem too good to be true.

2) Nevertheless, I wish Theranos were a public company; it would be perfect for the small speculative portion of my investment portfolio.