An algorithm can diagnose a cold from changes in someone’s voice

Faking sickness is about to get harder. Sneaking a day off work by nervously coughing down the phone to your boss might no longer cut the mustard—very soon your company might be able to tell whether or not your symptoms are real, just from the sound of your voice.As anyone who has woken up with a runny nose and a voice like Darth Vader can attest, infection with the common cold virus alters how a person’s voice sounds. That is because the vocal cords often become inflamed, which changes their acoustic properties. The tissue temporarily swells and, therefore, vibrates at a lower pitch, which tends to make people with a cold develop a deeper voice.