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  • NEWS FEATURE

Alexa, do I have COVID-19?

Researchers are exploring ways to use people’s voices to diagnose coronavirus infections, dementia, depression and much more.
  1. Emily Anthes

    1. Emily Anthes is a science journalist in New York City.

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Cartoon of a smart speaker listening to a woman's voice with the sound waves turning into virus particles

Illustration by Rune Fisker

In March, as the staggering scope of the coronavirus pandemic started to become clear, officials around the world began enlisting the public to join in the fight. Hospitals asked local companies to donate face masks. Researchers called on people who had recovered from COVID-19 to donate their blood plasma. And in Israel, the defence ministry and a start-up company called Vocalis Health asked people to donate their voices.

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Nature 586, 22-25 (2020)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-02732-4

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