Health Highlights: Jan. 8, 2019

AI Technology Detects Genetic Diseases Using Facial PhotosAirliner Crashes, Deaths Rose in 2018'Sonic Attacks' on U.S. Embassy Staff in Cuba May Have Been Crickets

Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

AI Technology Detects Genetic Diseases By Analyzing Facial Photos

Certain genetic diseases can be detected by new artificial intelligence technology that analyzes a photo of a person's face, researchers say.

The DeepGestalt technology was better than doctors at identifying a range of genetic syndromes, CNN reported.

The study was published Monday in the journal Nature Medicine.

Examples of conditions that can be identified by the technology include the nervous system disorder Angelman syndrome, in which patients have a wide mouth and widely spaced teeth, and strabismus, where the eyes point in different directions, CNN reported.

The deep learning algorithm was created by the artificial intelligence and precision medicine company FDNA using 17,000 facial images of patients with more than 200 distinct genetic syndromes.

While it could prove useful in personalized care, the researchers warned that the technology could be used by insurers and employers to discriminate against people who have pre-existing conditions or developing medical conditions, CNN reported.

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AI Technology Detects Genetic Diseases Using Facial Photos

Certain genetic diseases can be detected by new artificial intelligence (AI) technology that analyzes a photo of a person's face, researchers report.

The DeepGestalt technology was better than doctors at identifying a range of genetic syndromes, CNN reported.

The study was published Jan. 7 in the journal Nature Medicine.

Examples of conditions that can be identified by the technology include the nervous system disorder Angelman syndrome, in which patients have a wide mouth and widely spaced teeth, and strabismus, where the eyes point in different directions, CNN reported.

The deep learning algorithm was created by the artificial intelligence and precision medicine company FDNA using 17,000 facial images of patients with more than 200 distinct genetic syndromes.

While it could prove useful in personalized care, the researchers warned that the technology could be used by insurers and employers to discriminate against people who have pre-existing conditions or developing medical conditions, CNN reported.

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Airliner Crashes, Deaths Rose in 2018

Even though there was a sharp rise in the number of people killed in airliner crashes in 2018, it was still one of the safest years on record, aviation experts say.

There were 15 fatal airliner crashes in 2018, resulting in 556 deaths, compared with 10 crashes and 44 deaths in 2017, which was the safest year in aviation history, CNN reported.

The figures come from reports from the Dutch aviation consultancy To70 and the Netherlands-based Aviation Safety Network (ASN).

Of the crashes last year, 12 involved passenger flights and three were cargo flights, according to the ASN report. It said three of the 15 planes were operated by airlines on the European Union "blacklist."

Despite the increase in deaths between 2017 and 2018, there has been a significant improvement in overall aviation safety, ASN Chief Executive Harro Ranter told CNN.

"If the accident rate had remained the same as 10 years ago, there would have been 39 fatal accidents last year," he said. "This shows the enormous progress in terms of safety in the past two decades."

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'Sonic Attacks' on U.S. Embassy Staff in Cuba May Have Been Crickets

Crickets could be the cause of what's been called sonic attacks on U.S. diplomats and their families in Cuba, according to scientists who analyzed an audio sample of the bizarre noises reported in 2016 and 2017.

The sample was obtained and released by the Associated Press in late 2017, but U.S. officials have not been able to pinpoint the source of the piercing noise that led to symptoms such as dizziness, vertigo and pain and ringing in the ears, CNN reported.

U.S. Department of State officials have said it may have been "acoustic attack" by sonic devices, but Cuban officials have denied any attack.

The noise could the echoing call of the Indies short-tailed cricket, according to an analysis of the AP recording. The findings were released Jan. 4 by an American and British scientist, CNN reported.

While the sound on that recording is from crickets, the finding does not rule out the "the possibility that embassy personnel were victims of another form of attack," according to Fernando Montealegre-Zapata, professor of sensory biology, University of Lincoln, U.K., and Alexander Stubbs, University of California, Berkeley.

They also said the finding does not exclude the possibility that the symptoms suffered by the diplomats and their families were psychosomatic, CNN reported.

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