Patients searching for health-related information on the Internet may find their privacy threatened, said a research letter published in a major U.S. medical journal on Monday.

Marco Huesch, a researcher at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, searched for "depression," "herpes" and "cancer" on various health-related websites and observed that the data was being tracked.

The Wall Street Journal on Monday reported that several bidders have stepped up to vie for Hulu, an online video website that Internet pioneer Yahoo was said to be eyeing as an acquisition.

The Journal cited unnamed sources as saying that Hulu had several suitors, including satellite television company DirecTV and a partnership led by U.S. telecom titan AT&T.

Users who may have grown frustrated with Facebook's rudimentary search feature are getting an updated version designed to make it easier to find people, places and photos on the site.

Facebook unveiled its social search tool in January but only made it available to a small fraction of its 1.1 billion users, as its engineers continued to tweak and test it. Over the next few weeks, starting on Monday, the company is rolling out the social search tool, called "Graph Search," to everyone whose language is set to U.S. English.

Japanese broadcasters are refusing to air commercials for Panasonic's new "smart" television, the manufacturer said Monday, amid speculation they feel threatened by its combined TV-Internet function.

Private broadcasters -- in a rare case of turning down a major advertiser -- have said they will not show commercials for the product, claiming the split screen simultaneously showing broadcast content and web pages may confuse viewers, according to reports.

A solar-powered aircraft has lifted off from a suburban Washington airport, embarking on the final leg of a history-making cross-country flight.

The Solar Impulse flew out of Dulles International Airport a little before 5 a.m. Saturday en route to New York City. The flight plan for the revolutionary plane takes it past the Statue of Liberty before landing at New York's JFK Airport early Sunday.

A U.S. professor who developed a laser to study melanoma has discovered a new use for it: uncovering what's underneath artwork without damaging the pieces.

Dr. Warren S. Warren was at the National Gallery in London, looking at an exhibit on art forgeries, when he realized that the art world used imaging technologies that were 30 or 40 years old. So he began investigating whether lasers could be used to safely uncover the mysteries underneath layers of paint.

Cameras that check around the car for pedestrians. Radar that stops you from drifting out of your lane. An engine able to turn off automatically at traffic lights to conserve fuel.

Technology that saves lives — and fuel — is getting better and cheaper. That means it's no longer confined to luxury brands like Mercedes and Volvo. It's showing up in mainstream vehicles like the Nissan Rogue and Ford Fusion.

Nigeria's Ministry of Information says it has defeated a cyberattack on its government website by foreign gay-rights activists.

A statement from press secretary Joseph Mutah says Thursday night's hacking of www.nigeria.gov.ng was traced to activists who have recently attacked other governments' sites in a proclaimed fight for gay rights.

French secret services intercept all communications in France, stocking telephone and computer data for years, daily newspaper Le Monde reported Thursday amid an international uproar over spying by the United States.

Government officials have not responded to Agence France Presse requests for comment on the Le Monde report, which said data from communications was being stored on a supercomputer at the headquarters of the DGSE intelligence service.

Apple is in a waiting period with the U.S. gadget giant seeking the "next big direction" almost two years after the death of its groundbreaking boss Steve Jobs, the company's co-founder Steve Wozniak said Thursday.

Wozniak, speaking at a forum in Mexico City, insisted that Apple remains a "great company" with its "own culture" and a collection of trademarks despite its leader's death.