Heavens

From launching the most powerful spherical tokamak on Earth to discovering a mechanism that halts solar eruptions, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory advanced the boundaries of clean energy and plasma science research in 2015. Here, in no particular order, are our picks for the Top-5 developments of the year:

1. Starting up the National Spherical Torus Experiment-Upgrade (NSTX-U)

(BOSTON) Geographic location is an important predictor of the quality grades assigned to Medicare Advantage insurance plans, and the federal government should consider accounting for geographic differences to allow for fairer comparisons among plans, Boston University School of Public Health researchers say in a new study.

In the last year, astronomers from the University of Wyoming have discovered roughly 100 of the fastest-moving stars in the Milky Way galaxy with the aid of images from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), and use of the Wyoming Infrared Observatory (WIRO) on Jelm Mountain near Laramie, Wyo.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- A large new study reveals previously unknown risk factors associated with an eye condition that causes serious progressive nearsightedness at a relatively young age.

The findings, made through the largest-ever clinical study of the condition called keratoconus, could help more people receive newer treatments that can slow the problem and protect their vision.

In African children, a 3-dose intramuscular (i.m.) artesunate regimen is non-inferior to the WHO-recommended regimen for the treatment of severe malaria, according to a trial published this week in PLOS Medicine. The trial, conducted by Peter Kremsner at Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany and Hôpital Albert Schweitzer, Lambaréné, Gabon, and colleagues, did not show non-inferiority of a similar 3-dose intravenous (i.v.) regimen.

Shortly after NASA's Terra satellite passed over Tropical Storm Pali it strengthened into a record-breaking hurricane.

Scientists working with the Major Atmospheric Gamma-ray Imaging Cherenkov (MAGIC) observatory have reported the discovery of the most energetic pulsed emission radiation ever detected from the neutron star in the center of the supernova of 1054 A.D., known as the Crab pulsar.

The first international Global Farm Platform conference hosted by the University of Bristol this week [12 to 15 January] will highlight the benefits of utilising pasture and robust cows over high-yield, intensive systems.

Research findings from data shared between Vet School researcher, Professor Michael Lee and farmer, Neil Darwent, Director of the UK's Free Range Dairy Community Interest Company (CIC), will form part of a keynote address to be given by Professor Lee tomorrow [Wednesday 13 January].

A weaker Tropical Storm Ula continued to move through the Southern Pacific Ocean on Jan. 11 after peaking at major hurricane status. NASA's RapidScat instrument looked at Ula's winds, while the Global Precipitation Measurement or GPM mission satellite measured rainfall in the storm.

The old adage that says "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is" has finally been put to the test - mathematically - in research led by the University of Adelaide.

In a new paper to be published in Proceedings of the Royal Society A, a team of researchers has found that overwhelming evidence without a dissenting opinion can in fact weaken the credibility of a case, or point to a failure of the system.

A non-tropical low pressure system that has a possibility of developing subtropical characteristics has developed in the Northern Hemisphere tropics. During the week of January 4, Tropical Storm Pali developed in the Northern Central Pacific Ocean. On January 10 an area of low pressure developed in the Northern Atlantic Ocean, far to the east of Bermuda and NASA's Aqua satellite captured a look at the system in infrared light.

NASA satellite imagery showed that Tropical Cyclone Ula's eye appeared to be "closing" as clouds began filling it. Meanwhile New Caledonia remained on alert as the powerful storm continued moving away.

On Jan. 10 at 0900 UTC (4 a.m. EST) Tropical Cyclone Ula was a Category 4 Hurricane. Ula's maximum sustained winds at that time were near 115 knots (132.3 mph/213 kph). Since then, the storm has weakened.

Despite Ula weakening Mare and Ile des Pins, New Caledonia remained under a Yellow Alert for high ocean swells on Jan. 11.

Astronomers with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) announced that a distant quasar ran out of gas.

Their conclusions, reported Jan. 8 at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Kissimmee, Florida, clarify why quasar SDSS J1011+5442 changed so dramatically in the handful of years between observations.

Per­haps no startup was launched for a more intriguing reason than that of Northeastern's Hanchen Huang. From the com­pany website:

"MesoGlue was founded by Huang and two of his PhD stu­dents: They had a dream of a better way of sticking things together."

Extreme rain events fueled by the current strong El Nino have started to affect California. NASA estimated rainfall over a period of 7 days while NASA/NOAA's GOES Project created a satellite animation showing the storms affecting the region over the past three days.

An animation NOAA's GOES-West satellite imagery from Jan. 5 through Jan 7 shows the progression of storm systems in the Eastern Pacific Ocean that hit southern California and generated flooding and mudslides. The animation was created at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.