Science & technology | Sickies called
An algorithm can diagnose a cold from changes in someone’s voice
Malingerers, watch out
![USA. New York City. Man making a phone call in the evening. 1976.](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/content-assets/images/20230408_STP002.jpg)
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.
This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Sickies called”
More from Science & technology
![Detective looking into a magnifying glass with a bitcoin in the centre](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/content-assets/images/20250208_STD003.jpg)
Cryptocurrencies are spawning a new generation of private eyes
Their tools are software, and a nose for trouble
![Rear shot with drone.](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/content-assets/images/20250208_STP003.jpg)
Fine-tuned acoustic waves can knock drones out of the sky
The right sounds can also disable their cameras
![A member of a drone operations team, keeps a careful eye out for enemy drones](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/content-assets/images/20250208_STP002.jpg)
Fighting the war in Ukraine on the electromagnetic spectrum
Drone operators and jammers are in a high-tech arms race
Are ice baths good for you?
They won’t hurt. Actually they might, a bit
Why carbon monoxide could appeal to the discerning doper
Professional cycling is debating whether to ban the poisonous gas
A sophisticated civilisation once flourished in the Amazon basin
How the Casarabe died out remains a mystery