<p>Doctors have warned of one unusual symptom that could be an ‘emergency warning sign’ you have the Omicron Covid-19 variant. On January 11, 120,821 people tested positive for coronavirus in the UK, with more than one million having tested positive in the last seven days. Now Omicron is the most dominant strain of coronavirus in <a href="https://www.unilad.co.uk/health/omicron-doctors-warn-of-symptom-that-could-be-an-emergency-warning-sign/" title="Read more" >…</a></p>
<p>Debate about face masks has raged for much of the pandemic, with conflicting advice circulating on what types of mask to wear and how effective they are at stopping the spread. Studies have found that wearing N95, KN95 or KF94 masks (the thicker, origami-style ones) offers more protection, with a spring 2021 study revealing that <a href="https://www.unilad.co.uk/news/scientists-reveal-how-long-you-should-wear-the-same-face-mask/" title="Read more" >…</a></p>
<p>Alcoholics could be treated with ketamine to help break their addiction, scientists have suggested. A trial has found that a low dose of the illegal party drug could combined with psychological therapy helped patients being treated for alcohol addiction to maintain their sobriety for a longer period. The phase II trial, understood to be the <a href="https://www.unilad.co.uk/science/ketamine-could-be-used-to-help-treat-alcoholism-new-study-suggests/" title="Read more" >…</a></p>
<p>The UK Health Security Agency has revealed new guidance in relation to PCR testing following a lateral flow result. Following rising cases brought on by Omicron, changes to testing for coronavirus and alterations to the self-isolation period have continued to be made by the government in a bid to battle the surge, but also stem <a href="https://www.unilad.co.uk/news/omicron-new-pcr-testing-rules-come-into-force-today/" title="Read more" >…</a></p>
<p>A man has become the first ever person in the world to receive a genetically-modified pig heart in a transplant. David Bennett agreed to receive the genetically-modified pig heart after he was told that without the transplant that the only alternative was death. The 57-year-old, who was diagnosed with terminal heart disease, had been identified <a href="https://www.unilad.co.uk/health/man-receives-genetically-modified-pig-heart-in-world-first-transplant/" title="Read more" >…</a></p>
<p>A man in Sweden had his life saved by a drone carrying a defibrillator in what is thought to be a medical first. The rescue took place on the morning of December 9, 2021, when the 71-year-old man suffered a heart attack while shovelling snow in his driveway in the Swedish city of Trollhättan. Dr. <a href="https://www.unilad.co.uk/health/drone-saves-heart-attack-patients-life-for-the-first-time-in-medical-history/" title="Read more" >…</a></p>
<p>A rare case of avian flu transmitted from bird-to-human has been discovered in England. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has revealed that a case of the bird flu, known as the Avian Influenza, has been detected in the South West of England. It has only previously occurred in humans a few times in the <a href="https://www.unilad.co.uk/news/very-rare-human-case-of-bird-flu-detected-in-the-uk/" title="Read more" >…</a></p>
<p>Women who undergo surgery are 32% more likely to die if their operation is performed by a male doctor, a study has found. Research conducted by the University of Toronto revealed that female patients also had a 15% greater chance of a worse outcome in general when operated on by a male surgeon compared with <a href="https://www.unilad.co.uk/news/female-patients-more-likely-to-die-if-their-surgeon-is-male-study-suggests/" title="Read more" >…</a></p>
<p>The United States’ first known case of ‘flurona’ has been confirmed at a COVID-19 testing site in Los Angeles County. Officials at the testing site in Brentwood, California, confirmed the case after a child tested positive for both Influenza A (flu) and SARS-CoV-2 (coronavirus) following a trip to Cabo San Lucas. Despite both being contagious <a href="https://www.unilad.co.uk/news/first-case-of-flurona-confirmed-in-the-us/" title="Read more" >…</a></p>
<p>A procedure involving the transplant of pig brain cells has been branded ‘very promising’ for curing epilepsy, following a seemingly successful experiment with a sea lion. Cronutt the sea lion underwent the experimental surgery in October 2020 after his health began to deteriorate as a result of his increasingly frequent epileptic seizures. The animal’s weight <a href="https://www.unilad.co.uk/animals/pig-brain-cells-may-have-cured-sea-lions-epilepsy-in-very-promising-approach/" title="Read more" >…</a></p>
<p>A nurse woke up from a 28-day coma caused by coronavirus, after medics gave her Viagra as part of an experimental treatment. On November 9, Monica Almeida was admitted to Lincoln County Hospital after she tested positive for Covid-19 on October 31. The 37-year-old mother-of-two was double vaccinated but suffered from asthma, however she took <a href="https://www.unilad.co.uk/health/nurse-wakes-up-from-28-day-covid-coma-after-taking-viagra/" title="Read more" >…</a></p>
<p>Comedians could soon be prescribed by the NHS in an attempt to prove that laughter really is the best medicine. Angie Belcher, comedian in residence at Bristol University, has been working with medics to develop sessions for people suffering from depression that are designed to make them laugh. Belcher says the courses could help people <a href="https://www.unilad.co.uk/health/comedians-could-soon-be-prescribed-to-combat-depression/" title="Read more" >…</a></p>
<p>Ministers have told schools in England that pupils should return to wearing masks when in class, with fears that the new term will bring another spike in Omicron cases when it begins this week. Secondary school children in England will be expected to return to mask-wearing during lessons, with the Department for Education saying the advice <a href="https://www.unilad.co.uk/news/omicron-pupils-told-to-wear-face-masks-at-school-over-variant-spread-fears/" title="Read more" >…</a></p>
"A culture fixated on female thinness is not an obsession about female beauty, but an obsession about female obedience"
<p>With Christmas comes festive food, celebratory drinking and the inevitable pressure many face over feeling you’ve somehow ‘overindulged’. Bridget Jones’s Diary – which, yes, can be classed as a Christmas film – sees Jones keep track of what she eats, get comments on her body shape, and resolves on multiple occasions to lose weight by <a href="https://www.unilad.co.uk/featured/just-because-christmas-is-over-doesnt-mean-you-have-to-go-on-a-diet/" title="Read more" >…</a></p>
<p>As thousands of people ditch animal products for plant-based alternatives, the charity Veganuary has shared some of its top tips for those attempting the environmentally-friendly diet. After weeks of seeing adverts and social media posts about tucking into buttery mince pies, cracking open boxes of creamy chocolate and indulging in copious amounts of pigs in <a href="https://www.unilad.co.uk/life/veganuary-share-key-advice-for-those-going-plant-based-this-month/" title="Read more" >…</a></p>
"Over the period of being homeless I was being groomed by my boss, and sexually assaulted by him. By a grown man, and I was only 17"
"I genuinely think that the term sexual harassment doesn’t even describe what is going on right now, it literally is sexual terrorism"
<p>On July 9, 2018, Lisa woke up with the most ‘horrific’ hangover, fed up with how sick, tired and anxious she was feeling. A year later, on June 2, 2019, her best friend Alex thought she’d ‘poisoned’ herself after waking up ‘crawling around on all fours and vomiting’. Both were ‘I’m never drinking again’ moments, <a href="https://www.unilad.co.uk/featured/best-friends-encourage-sobriety-after-getting-sick-and-tired-of-feeling-sick-and-tired/" title="Read more" >…</a></p>
<p>‘The one thing… I don’t know… I know what I want to say, but I don’t know how to say it. I guess, you know what really scared me? Was during lockdown, the amount of people that were innocently using their social media to encourage drinking.’ Mike Kerr, from rock duo Royal Blood, has been <a href="https://www.unilad.co.uk/featured/royal-bloods-mike-discusses-liquid-depression-as-he-opens-up-about-addiction-and-mental-health-this-movember/" title="Read more" >…</a></p>
Royal Blood's Mike Kerr has opened up about his journey with addiction urging men to not wait for a 'stag-do to speak' about mental health
<p>Variations of the word ‘depression’ are still so often thrown about – ‘What a depressing day’, ‘I’m feeling a bit depressed’, ‘What depressing weather’ – often by people who don’t have diagnosed depression. Despite its colloquiality, and the fact mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety are more readily accepted by society, why are <a href="https://www.unilad.co.uk/featured/i-was-told-to-never-admit-to-my-depression-on-any-form-heres-why-you-should/" title="Read more" >…</a></p>
Adult film experts have weighed in on the dangers it presents to young people but argue it shouldn't be banned