IBT Staff Reporter

In December, NASA held a press conference to announce that a bacteria discovered in a salty California lake appeared to use arsenic in its DNA. But the findings ran into criticism right from the start, and now the journal Science has published the critiques of the work, as well as a response from the team that did the original work.

French officials on Friday unveiled a report about the last moments of Air France Flight 447, releasing information generated from 'black box' flight data discovered in early May.

Greece's prime minister failed to convince opposition leaders on Friday to support tougher austerity measures to free up EU/IMF aid needed to avert a debt default.

Google took the wraps off of Google Wallet, its new mobile payment system, making the announcement on Thursday from the company's New York office. Mobile payment systems have drawn the interest of banks and retailers, and the industry is hoping consumers will adopt the systems as well.

U.S. stocks rose in light volume on Friday, with basic materials shares leading the way as commodity prices kept rising on the back of a weaker U.S. dollar.

For her meeting with President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, Kate Middleton chose to wear a simple Shola sheath dress from Reiss, a popular British chain store. The dress retailed for $340.

Influential hedge fund manager David Einhorn wants Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to step down and he has good reasons for that call.

As American publishers gathered in New York this week to promote the best of what's coming in the year ahead, more and more attention was focused on the growing influence of digital publishing.

Google Wallet is set to face tough time as PayPal has filed a lawsuit for stealing trade secrets, barely hours after Google officially launched Google Wallet and Google Offers services.

Ratings agency Fitch on Friday cut its outlook on Japan's sovereign debt, warning that the vast cost of a March earthquake and tsunami and the still-unknown bill for the clean-up after the nuclear disaster would further strain the country's already shaky public finances.

The Dollar Gold Price traded in a $3 range around $1526 per ounce on Friday morning in London, while stocks and commodities were up and the Euro rallied despite concerns the IMF may halt the latest payment of Greece's €110 billion bailout.

The U.S. economy remained sluggish early in the second quarter with high gasoline prices crimping consumer spending and bad weather helping to push pending home sales to a seven-month low in April.

The 'most important race in history' can be your destination this Memorial Day.

The 27 year old Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg offered an insight into his diet and general practice in preparing his meals, saying he only eats meat that he butchers and kills by his own hands.

Bank of Ireland will unveil plans early next week for its junior bondholders to exchange 2.8 billion euros ($4 billion) in debt for shares in the bank, a source familiar with the process said on Friday.

A Chinese media, Chaoxian.com.cn, has reported that North Korea's Chosun Central TV recently released the survey result of a 'Happiness Index (Gross National Happiness) of each nation' and according to the survey, China tops the ranking, followed by North Korea while the U.S is at the bottom, ranked 203.

A Chinese media, Chaoxian.com.cn, has reported that North Korea's Chosun Central TV recently released the survey result of a 'Happiness Index (Gross National Happiness) of each nation' and according to the survey, China tops the ranking, followed by North Korea while the U.S is at the bottom, ranked 203.

Amy Poehler was invited to speak to the Harvard class of 2011 on Wednesday as a part of Class Day.

Images from the Endeavour space shuttle mission.

Pending sales of existing U.S. homes dropped far more than expected in April to touch a seven-month low, a trade group said on Friday, dealing a blow to hopes of a recovery in the housing market.

Activist investor Carl Icahn cut his stake in video game publisher Take-Two Interactive Software Inc, sending its shares down as the move dampened hopes for a quick company takeover.

Lawyers for shareholders of Research In Motion have filed a class action lawsuit against the BlackBerry maker, claiming its executives misled investors about its prospects in recent months.

Barcelona midfielder Xavi has come out with praise for Manchester United saying the Red Devils domination and sustained success should be a parameter for the Catalans to aim towards.

California regulators may open a formal examination of AT&T Inc's proposed $39 billion purchase of T-Mobile USA, a move that could delay or add conditions to approval of the deal.

PayPal is suing Google for stealing the trade secrets that allowed it to start its smartphone payment business.

Oil pared gains on Friday as weaker-than-expected U.S. pending home sales data for April triggered fresh concerns about the pace of recovery by the world's largest energy consumer and after a softer dollar initially lent support to prices.

The U.S. economy stayed on a sluggish growth path early in the second quarter, with high gasoline prices constraining consumer spending and helping to push pending home resales to a seven-month low in April.

Planking is a fast-growing, but possibly dangerous, game – started in England, most popular in Australia, but spreading worldwide – in online society where people post up their pictures of lying down on some of the most unusual and obscure places.

Wall Street rose on Friday, led by energy and materials stocks as commodity prices firmed in light trading before the long Memorial Day holiday weekend.