monitoring

Twitterati and other netizens should already know that their Internet musings are public and could potentially become fodder for intelligence analysts. But now U.S. spy agencies have officially invested in a software firm that monitors social media and half a million web 2.0 sites daily.

A text-messaging microchip planted on the patient's body significantly boosts compliance with doctor's prescriptions, according to pharmaceutical giant Novartis. That's good news for patient health and reining in healthcare costs, but a potentially worrisome development for privacy advocates.

Patients taking a drug for lowering blood pressure also received two additional gifts: tiny microchips within each pill and a shoulder-attached sensor patch.