A four part series produced for "Discovery" on BBC World Service, and "Off Track" on ABC Radio National.

Saving the ocean (part 3): Unexpected consequences

From bacteria that breathe away toxic waste, to slime mould memory, this was a very microbial program that originally broadcast on "Off Track" (ABC Radio National; 04 November 2012).

A Very Microbial Program

During the English winter of 2003/4, something sinister was afoot at the Horton General Hospital in Oxfordshire. 

Between December and February, 18 patients admitted to the Emergency Department went into life threatening, respiratory arrest. Two of them died. Hospital staff might expect one, maybe two such incidents a month - but 18?


Police were called in after hospital authorities revealed there had been a single common factor to the unusual pattern of incidents; Benjamin Geen, a nurse, had been on duty when each of the patients collapsed. 

In February 2004, Geen was arrested as he arrived for work. Arresting police found a syringe filled with potentially lethal muscle relaxant in his pocket.


In 2006, Geen went to trial. The prosecution argued that Geen had surreptitiously injected the patients with a lethal cocktail of muscle relaxant and insulin, causing them to go into life threatening respiratory arrest. 

The Detective who led the investigation said of Geen, "it is clear that he wanted to be the centre of attention and in order to fuel this desire, brought some of his patients to the brink of death and coldly murdered two of them." 

Geen denied all charges.

At trial he was convicted of murdering two patients, and causing grievous bodily harm with intent to a further fifteen. He was sentenced to 38 years in prison.

An unusual pattern

Fitness trackers are becoming increasingly ubiquitous; it's estimated that 1 in 6 people in the United States use some form of wearable technology. 

And the anecdotal evidence is overwhelming - I'm sure we all know someone who swears by the capacity of these devices to improve health and fitness. 

But how does anecdote square up against science in the fitness tracker revolution?

Witness the fitness

Dr Heidi Hilton is a breast cancer researcher. In 2008 she was about to take up a postdoc position in London when a regular check up uncovered a lump in her breast. This is her story.

When a breast cancer researcher gets breast cancer..

Dana Dirr, trauma surgeon, and mother of eleven, was hit by a drunk driver on Mother's Day. She was pregnant at the time. 

Doctors managed to save her baby, but Dana passed away at the hospital. 

To make matters worse, one of her children, a seven-year-old boy, had been battling cancer. 

Dana's husband posted an emotional tribute to his wife on Facebook, which quickly went viral, eliciting an outpouring of grief online.

But - the entire story was fake.

Munchausen by internet is a syndrome where people go online and pretend to be sick to get the sympathy and attention of others. And we have no idea just how prevalent it is.

Real fake illness: Munchausen by internet

Erika Schneider explains the psychological and emotional burden of Empty Nose Syndrome..

Erika on Empty Nose Syndrome

Stories from the blood bank.. 
An intrepid reporter bleeds for the show.. 
A long time donor discovers she has a never-before-identified blood type - and gets it named after her.. 
The Australian Defence Force asks the Red Cross to freeze blood for our troops.. 
And, a unique friendship is forged over a lifetime of blood transfusions.

Popular tracks by Joel B. Werner