Oculomics can help catch disease risks early on + Walmart is looking into its supply chains for prison labor

3D eye scans can help detect Parkinson’s disease years before symptoms: Studies suggest that 3D eye scans, which are commonly used at opticians, could help identify people at high risk of developing Parkinson’s disease — up to seven years before they show any symptoms, according to research published in the journal Neurology. The findings add to the growing body of evidence that eye scans can be used to detect early signs of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, and schizophrenia.

Oculomics is an emerging field of research that is being investigated as a way to identify people who are at risk of developing heart disease and diabetes, the Guardian reports. “The eye is the only part of the body where you can directly visualize the microvascular circulation [the flow of blood through the tiniest vessels]. If you have changes in your blood or cardiovascular system, those changes may be manifested in the retinal blood vessel,” Professor of artificial medical intelligence at University College London and Moorfields eye hospital Pearse Keane said.

Caught red handed: Following allegations that inmates at Cambodia’s largest women’s prison were unlawfully employed to produce garments for export, Walmart and Centric Brands have launched investigations into their supply chains and whether their operations were exposed to these goods, according to Reuters. The American Apparel and Footwear Association and Reuters had separately voiced concerns to Cambodia’s ambassador to the US, citing reports from credible sources that inmates were producing textile products as part of an unofficial rehabilitation program.

The international trade of goods made by prisoners is illegal in both the US and Cambodia, although prison labor in itself is permitted by the International Labor Organization (ILO) as long as it is not done under coercion, and as long as the goods aren’t exported.Three Cambodian companies were fined and had their export license revoked for a three-month period for using inmates at the correctional facility to sew hotel slippers for export. Since then, four people, two of which were inmates at the facility, identified Walmart and Centric Brands as other beneficiaries of prison labor. Both companies source goods from Cambodia.