Gut microbiome can reveal risk of Parkinson’s, scientists say

Changes to microbes that live in the gut can identify people at greater risk of Parkinson’s disease long before symptoms develop, according to work that also raises hopes for new therapies.Researchers discovered signature changes in the gut microbiome that are more pronounced in people with a genetic risk for Parkinson’s and even more stark in those diagnosed with the disease.The signature could help doctors spot patients at risk of Parkinson’s years before they display clear symptoms and suggests that healthier diets and treatments that reshape the microbiome might prevent or delay the disease.Prof Anthony Schapira, the head of clinical and movement neurosciences at University College London and lead investigator on the study, said it was the first time a microbial signature in Parkinson’s patients had been seen in people with a genetic susceptibility but had yet to develop symptoms. The signature appears to become stronger as the disease progresses

Trustpilot hosts reviews of illegal casinos, raising concern among MPs

Trustpilot, the reviews website that offers to “find a company you can trust”, is hosting ratings of illegal casinos, raising concerns in Westminster about the potential risks posed to consumers.Unlicensed casino operators linked to financial harm, addiction and even suicide have flooded the UK market in recent years, often targeting people who are trying to limit their gambling by “self-excluding” from licensed operators.Despite this, Trustpilot hosts reviews of some of the largest unlicensed sites, exposed in a recent investigation into the illegal Santeda casino network by the Guardian and Investigate Europe, as if they were legitimate businesses.Analysis by the Guardian found reviews for brands including Santeda’s MyStake, Velobet and Goldenbet, which do not have a licence from the Gambling Commission.Offering gambling services without a licence from the regulator is a criminal offence

England left with ‘toilet deserts’ as public facilities decline by 14% in a decade

The number of public toilets in England has fallen by 14% in a decade, harming public health and creating vast swathes of lavatory “deserts” and unpleasant environments, a report says.The analysis by the Royal Society for Public Health found a “significant shortfall” in provision, with 15,481 people for each public toilet in England. That contrasts sharply with Scotland, where there are 8,500 people for each toilet, and Wales, with 6,748.The analysis was based on 221 freedom of information responses from 309 English councils. The number of toilets was down 14% on 2016

‘A white man’s fantasy’: if we want to rebuild social cohesion, we need to acknowledge where it all started to unravel

Things fall apart, as Chinua Achebe warned us. And “things” – the climate, the social contract, the rules-based international order – seem to be falling apart at a rate of knots. They fell apart spectacularly and horribly at Bondi last December, when allegedly Islamist gunmen opened fire on civilians, including children. Fifteen people were killed. Many more were injured

‘Labels protect us’: Olivia Nervo wants reproductive coercion to be a standalone offence – she is not alone

When the Grammy award winning songwriter, Olivia Nervo, agreed to start a family with her partner she believed she was in “a monogamous, committed relationship leading to a future”, and had never heard of reproductive coercion.Her world came crashing down when she was six months pregnant and she found out that her partner was in a relationship with another woman who was also pregnant, and with whom he already had a child.It was a discovery that led her to learn about reproductive coercion, a form of controlling behaviour in which someone interferes with an individual’s ability to make decisions about their own body. The Labour MP, Natalie Fleet, led a debate in parliament on the issue last month in which she said it was “so important – in the public interest, even – that the story of Olivia Nervo is heard”.The court declined to make any finding as to whether there had been reproductive coercion in Nervo’s case, with Fleet describing the doctrine as something the legal system in England and Wales “still struggles to recognise”

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