Despite end-of-year decline, 2011 food prices highest on record- UN

The United Nations agricultural agency on Thursday reported that although global food prices declined in December, the overall annual average was the highest ever on record. Last month, Food Price Index level of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) was 211 points, 27 points below its peak in February 2011. The decline was driven by sharp falls in the international prices of cereals, sugar and oils due to a productive harvest coupled with a slowing demand and a stronger U. S. dollar.

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Girl with 5 pound tumor in chest receives minimally invasive new surgery

Anna Cole was only 10 years old when doctors found a tumor the size of a volleyball growing in the young musician’s chest. The discovery was by happenstance. Anna’s mother, Chee-Hwa Cole, a musician and her father, Dr. Christopher Cole, a Colorado Springs-based cardiologist, noticed a slight curvature on the right side of her back as she sat playing the piano. Concerned that their daughter had scoliosis, they took her to the doctor for routine screenings.

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Tiny frog - the world’s smallest vertebrate

A frog that can perch on the tip of your pinkie with room to spare has been claimed as the world’s smallest vertebrate species, ‘out-tinying’ a fish that got the title in 2006. But the discoverer of another weensy fish disputes the claim.

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