Machine learning can detect a genetic disorder from speech recordings

Machine learning is a form of artificial intelligence by which algorithms are "trained" to analyze new information using existing data. Researchers are using it to identify individuals with a genetic condition known as fragile X premutation. How much information can we extract from a five-minute recording of someone talking? Enough to tell whether that individual may be genetically predisposed to some health complications, according to researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison's Waisman Center and Wisconsin Institute for Discovery. In a new study published this month in Scientific Reports, the researchers used machine learning to analyze hundreds of voice recordings and accurately identify individuals with a genetic condition known as fragile X premutation, which increases the risk of developing neurodegenerative disorders, infertility or having a child with fragile X syndrome.