AP - A Dutch woman who was the oldest person in the world when she died at age 115 in 2005 appeared sharp right up to the end, joking that pickled herring was the secret to her longevity.

AP - A metal clip fell from Discovery's brakes on Friday but NASA said it won't delay the space shuttle's scheduled landing on Saturday.

Reuters - Some unethical Web sites and clinics are offering "snake oil" treatments that claim to provide cures using stem cells but are at best raising false hopes, stem cell experts said on Thursday.

AP - First came the shock, then the grief. As dozens of people injured in a tornado at an Iowa Boy Scout camp recovered, families and friends tried to make sense of the deaths of four teenage Scouts who had gone to the elite camp to learn how to be leaders.

AP - The Apollo-era launch pad used to shoot space shuttle Discovery into orbit two weeks ago may have been flawed from the day it was built, and will need weeks if not months of work to fix all the liftoff damage, NASA said Thursday.

AFP - Invitrogen Corp. will buy Applera Corp.'s Applied Biosystems Group in a 6.7 billion dollar deal to create a biotechnology giant, the two California companies said Thursday.

AFP - French President Nicolas Sarkozy has asked the International Monetary Fund to look into harnessing record profits from the oil industry to fund investment in renewable energy, a junior minister said Thursday.

AFP - Madagascar and France on Wednesday signed an agreement allocating 20 million dollars (13 million euros) to preserve Madagascar's rich biodiversity, the World Wildlife Fund said.

Reuters - A tornado roared through a Boy Scout camp in Iowa and flattened a cabin where many campers had sought shelter, killing four teen-aged boys and injuring dozens of others.