In light of recent efforts to study for finals, time spent on social media and subsequent news reading has been on the rise. Here is what I found most worth sharing.

The Obama administration will allegedly propose new regulations including wage protection for home health workers. I don’t know the financial ramifications, but I do know that home health workers are paid very little for what can be a demanding but critically important job that offers many types of treatments otherwise not available outside some kind of medical establishment. I am no expert, but on the face of it this seems like it would be a very important and beneficial effort.

White Coat talks about the practical issues of treating transgender patients. Apparently, this can be an emotional issue for those who have yet to finish the process and are in significant mental turmoil and emotional stress.

I’m not the only one! ACA brings health coverage to 2.5 million young adults. I know that this made a significant financial impact in my life, as I received better health coverage than offered at my school for a much lower cost (this year no cost, actually, since my parent’s plan has one cost for covering all children). I wonder if this will change rates for insuring children? They are a pretty healthy group. Either way, I think this is an example of a strong benefit from the Affordable Care Act that came at little cost to anyone — well, cry me a river, insurance companies.

Seriously BIG money: Lipitor goes generic and manufacturers of a new generation of the Pill come under controversy for misleading advertisements. Big money = big chances for anything from slippery business practices to outright dihonesty. It’s a scary world out there…

I don’t only read about health care. Thanks to someone who popped up in my news feed, here is coverage of “The seige of Wukan:” residents of a small village in China fight back after continued attempts to sell their land to developers.

Top Google searches of 2011 went up. (but it ain’t over ’til it’s over, right?) We sure love our celebrities is all I can say (not that I am criticizing). Also noted is that one quarter of Google searches are unique in Google history.

This is fun: Compare US Google searches to United Kingdom list. They are pretty similar. My favorites: ‘how to snog’ and ‘what is probate.’ Talk about diversity!