A public inquiry into the deaths of 400 hundred patients at Stafford Hospital could cost the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust more than £1 million.

According to the trust's current chief executive, Anthony Sumara, costs for the public inquiry, set to start next month, may cost more than £1m when staff time and legal representation are taken into account, The BBC reported.

In eastern India, crop failure due to a severe 2-year drought is pushing one village to take extreme measures. The inhabitants are threatening to commit mass suicide. In the village of Jarad in a remote part of eastern India, Surendra Karmali lives alongside his family, including his little grandson. While his life may look like a happy picture, the reality is quite the opposite. With no food to eat, Surendra and over 20 other farmers in the small village of about 300 families have threatened to commit mass suicide.

The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has called for an international meeting to discuss the recent rise in global food prices, amid climate change concerns.

The announcement comes a day after Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said that the country's ban on grain exports will remain in place until the end of 2011.

The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) says world food prices have climbed to their highest level in two years, partly due to a drought in Russia.

The Rome-based UN agency said Wednesday that its food price index climbed 5 percent between July and August, although still 38 percent lower than its peak in June 2008, AP reported.

The worst ever drought and wildfires last month have lead to a sharp rise in the prices of basic foodstuffs like buckwheat and flour in Russia.

Inflation in Russia was 0.2 percent last week, much higher than the figure before the drought. It is the third week in a row that prices have soared by this degree, the state statistics office announced.

A protein produced in individuals suffering from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has shown promising results in protecting them against Alzheimer's disease, a new study says.

Previous studies have reported lower risk of Alzheimer's disease in individuals with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). High consumption of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), however, had long been considered as the main cause.

Researchers from a New Jersey biotechnology company say many bottled teas contain almost no antioxidants -- polyphenols from tea -- and give drinkers little benefits.

At the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, reports showed that drinking green or black tea has much more health benefits than bottled tea beverages.

The war-torn Afghanistan has been ranked top for having the world's least-secure food supplies, according to a survey of 163 nations.

British-based consultancy Maplecroft released the food security risk index 2010 on Thursday.

Amphetamine abuse can place young adults at an increased risk of suffering from a fatal tear in the body's main artery, the aorta, a new study finds.

Amphetamine, also known as speed or crank, is known to improve wakefulness and focus while reducing fatigue and appetite. The drug is widely abused as it is also considered as a performance enhancer.