Following is a summary of science news briefs compiled from stories that have run separately and are available in full on the file.
How do baby birdies learn to sing? By babbling
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Baby birds babble much like human infants do, and they have their own special brain circuits to do it, researchers reported on Thursday. Their findings suggest that learning to sing -- and also to speak -- is a process independent of adult singing or speech.
Chilean volcano belches ash, forces evacuation
SANTIAGO (Reuters) - A volcano in southern Chile spewed a vast cloud of ash before dawn on Friday, triggering earth tremors and prompting the evacuation of about 250 people, officials said. Residents said ash fell over the picturesque Patagonian town of Chaiten, which is 760 miles south of the capital Santiago and just 6 miles from the volcano.
Shuttle tank delays push back Hubble mission
HOUSTON (Reuters) - Delays in producing space shuttle fuel tanks, which were substantially redesigned after the 2003 Columbia disaster, will postpone NASA's final servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope by a month or longer, officials at the U.S. space agency said on Thursday. Originally due to launch on August 28, the space shuttle flight to the telescope will be postponed four to five weeks, shuttle program manager John Shannon said.
Night club drug could ease depression: scientists
LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists have unraveled how a horse tranquilizer and hallucinogenic night club drug known as "Special K" can ease depression, researchers said on Friday. Ketamine, which can also cause feelings of detachment, could pave the way for new treatments for people suffering from depression, the researchers added.
Researchers find gene defect that boosts glucose
LONDON (Reuters) - An international research team has pinpointed a genetic mutation that can raise a healthy person's blood sugar to harmful levels, putting them at higher risk of serious problems like heart disease. The defect could cause an increase of around 5 percent that can prove dangerous even for people without diabetes, the researchers reported in the journal Science said on Thursday.
Turn-ons, turn-offs, desire varies widely among men
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Men aren't all from Mars when it comes to their sexuality, a new study from Kinsey Institute researchers shows. Among the revelations from their focus groups in which men talked about what influenced their sexual desire and arousal: one man's turn-on is often another's turn-off; an erection doesn't always signal arousal; and not every guy wants to jump into bed at the drop of a hat.
Peer pressure brings docs up to speed: study
BOSTON (Reuters) - Is your doctor's practice on the cutting edge of medicine? If not, maybe he or she needs a little peer pressure. A study at 19 maternity hospitals in Argentina and Uruguay has concluded that many doctors will continue to practice outdated medicine unless they get an aggressive push from their colleagues to embrace the best-available research on delivering babies.
Scientists develop new type of memory circuit
CHICAGO (Reuters) - It took about 40 years to find it, but scientists at Hewlett-Packard said on Wednesday they discovered a fourth basic type of electrical circuit that could lead to a computer you never have to boot up. The finding proves what until now had only been theory -- but could save millions from the tedium of waiting for a computer to find its "place," the researchers said.
