Science

A car destroyed by the Soberanes fire in Big Sur, Calif. Lodge managers and cafe owners there are facing cancelled bookings after fire officials warned that crews will likely be battling the fire for another month. Terry Chea/AP hide caption

Although Uber has repeatedly extolled drunken-driving reduction as a benefit of its service, a new study of data from across the U.S. finds ride-sharing apps have had no effect on alcohol-related traffic fatalities. Eric Risberg/AP hide caption

Diabetes alert dogs are trained to detect low blood glucose in a person. The dogs can cost $20,000, but little research has been done on their effectiveness. Frank Wisneski/Flickr hide caption

Scientists from the Nautilus exploration vessel found this bright purple orb near California's Channel Islands. E/V Nautilus/Screen shot by NPR hide caption

Scientists using a high-resolution X-ray technique found that this bone belonging to a hominin, an ancient, extinct relative of modern humans, has a malignant tumor. Patrick Randolph-Quinney (UCLan) hide caption

The re-entry of a Chinese rocket stage lit up the sky over Utah, Nevada and California on Wednesday night. Matt Holm hide caption

This undated photo was taken of John Hinckley Jr. in front of the White House. He attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan in D.C. on March 30, 1981. AFP/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

"There is plenty of room at the bottom": An excerpt from a landmark 1959 lecture by physicist Richard Feynman is written on a sheet of copper with chlorine atoms. Otte Lab/Delft University of Technology hide caption

A typical Native American oyster deposit, or midden, dating to about 1,000 years ago. Archaeologists are finding clues to sustainable oysters harvesting in these remains. Torben Rick/Smithsonian Institution hide caption