In Yemen, as protesters press for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down, senior military leaders have defected to the other side. Robert Powell, of The Economist Intelligence Unit, says the motivation for their defection is questionable. Powell tells Linda Wertheimer military officials may want to seize power for themselves.

The Cassini spacecraft left for Saturn in 1997 and has been observing the planet, its rings and moons since 2004. Writing in the journal Science, research scientist Elizabeth Turtle describes the weather on Titan, one of Saturn’s moons, and its effects on the moon’s surface.

Copyright © 2011 National Public Radio®. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required. IRA FLATOW, host: You’re listening to SCIENCE FRIDAY. I’m Ira Flatow. Springtime is upon us, well, not just here on Earth but also on the largest moon of Saturn – Titan. But the April showers on Titan are nothing like those you’ll find here on Earth. On Titan it rains liquid methane. How do we know about the weather on Titan? Well, the Cassini spacecraft launched in 1997 arrived at Saturn in 2004 and it has been circling the planet, its rings, its moons, ever since. And it’s been measuring things like temperature, what the atmospheres are made of, what conditions are like out there in that planetary system. My next guest has been studying Saturn and its system of moons and has just published a study in the journal Science. Elizabeth Turtle is a research scientist at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab in Laurel, Maryland. She joins us by phone. Welcome to SCIENCE FRIDAY. Ms. ELIZABETH TURTLE (Johns Hopkins University): Hi, thank you. FLATOW: Why go out there to look at Titan? Ms. TURTLE: Titan is a particularly fascinating moon in the outer solar system because it’s the only moon that has a dense atmosphere. Most moons don’t have much of an atmosphere, and Titan’s unique in this. And its atmosphere – actually the density near the surface – is about one and a half times that on Earth, which has led to some fascinating processes and very familiar processes on the surface. FLATOW: Such as? Ms. TURTLE: Such as kinds of erosion that we’re very familiar with here on Earth, erosion by wind and rain and deposition of large fields of dunes, for example. FLATOW: So it has some surface to it? There’s a bedrock someplace? Ms. TURTLE: Yes, yes. The surface is – the bedrock on Titan, because it’s so cold, is composed of water ice. And so the substances are very different from the substances we’re used to here on Earth, but – or in different phases than we’re used to here on Earth, but the processes are very similar in some cases. FLATOW: So it’s springtime, and it’s raining there, but not liquid water rain. Ms. TURTLE: Right, exactly. So it’s cold enough that methane is a liquid in the – on Titan, and Titan actually has a cycle in its atmosphere similar to the cycle we have here on Earth with water. Water is a liquid on the surface, running in rivers into the ocean. Water evaporates into the atmosphere, condenses into clouds, and rains back out onto the surface, and you get a cycle. On Titan we have a very similar cycle, actually, but with methane playing the role of water. So we see methane in the – in lakes and seas, actually, and those are all concentrated near Titan’s poles, and that methane can evaporate out into the – up into the atmosphere and condense and form bright methane clouds, which we’ve been observing and tracking for several years, and apparently rain out onto the surface as well. FLATOW: Amazing. 1-800-989-8255 is our number. We’re talking with Elizabeth Turtle about Titan. And does it look – does the surface look like Mars, with gulleys and, you know, rivers and things like that? Or does it look more like – how does it look? Ms. TURTLE: In some areas the surface is very familiar, similar to Earth or Mars. We see areas that are channeled, predominately dry channels right now, although in one particular area they may still be wet. But we do see channels all over the surface. In other ways it’s very different. The equatorial regions are dominated by huge sand seas, seas of – not sand like we’re familiar with on Earth, but hydrocarbon or maybe water ice particles forming these giant fields of longitudinal dunes. So the equator is very arid. Another difference between Titan and Mars is that Titan, because it has such a thick atmosphere and such high erosional rates, there are not many impact craters on it. So it’s actually more similar to Earth in that respect. A lot of the impact craters on Earth have been eroded by similar processes. FLATOW: So how long does the spring last on Titan? Is it a couple of months, like three months like around here, or go on a little different(ph)? Ms. TURTLE: Well, Titan months, yes. (Soundbite of laughter) Ms. TURTLE: But Titan’s year is about 29 and a half Earth years. So a season is seven years or so. So when we – when Cassini arrived at Saturn, it was late southern summer. And now we’re just going into early northern spring. The spring equinox on Titan was in August, 2009. So we’re just a few Titan weeks into spring. FLATOW: Wow, that’s quite fascinating. I want to thank you for taking time to be with us and talk about it. Ms. TURTLE: Oh, it was my pleasure. FLATOW: Elizabeth Turtle, who was talking about Titan, and she is a research scientist at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab in Laurel, Maryland. Copyright © 2011 National Public Radio®. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to National Public Radio. This transcript is provided for personal, noncommercial use only, pursuant to our Terms of Use. Any other use requires NPR’s prior permission. Visit our permissions page for further information. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio.

Enlarge Maggie Starbard/NPR Tyler Scorza, 7, had his tonsils removed last year to help with his snoring.

Maggie Starbard/NPR Tyler Scorza, 7, had his tonsils removed last year to help with his snoring.

Getting your tonsils out used to be just part of childhood — a rite of passage for children in the 1950s and ’60s. Then it fell out of favor. But tonsillectomy is back. Today, the most common reason for the surgery is “sleep disordered breathing,” a broad diagnosis that includes sleep apnea and snoring. About 10 percent of elementary-school-age children snore. Doctors say snoring can cause bed-wetting, behavior problems, short stature and poor school performance. That’s a far cry from the 1950s and ’60s, when tonsillectomy was used to fight frequent sore throats. Back then, it was the most popular surgery in the United States. In the 1960s sitcom Leave It to Beaver, Beaver Cleaver was so impressed by his dad’s tales of ice cream and pretty nurses that he schemed to have his tonsils out, even though he didn’t need it. Turning Point For Tonsillectomies

It was becoming unacceptable to just take tonsils out because they were there or you had a few infections. People were growing up with their tonsils.

– Richard Rosenfeld, an ear, nose and throat doctor at SUNY Downstate in Brooklyn, N.Y.

The tonsils are two glands that sit at the base of the tongue and are part of the body’s immune system. The premise of tonsillectomies, back in their heyday, was that tonsils get infected themselves and no longer help fend off germs. Then doctors started noticing that kids were still getting sore throats, even after having their tonsils taken out. But it wasn’t until clinical trials were completed in the early 1980s that there was proof that tonsillectomy really only helped children with severe, recurrent throat infections. “It was becoming unacceptable to just take tonsils out because they were there or you had a few infections,” says Richard Rosenfeld, an ear, nose and throat doctor at SUNY Downstate in Brooklyn, N.Y. “People were growing up with their tonsils.” But growing up with tonsils can create another problem: snoring. Lisa Moran of Takoma Park, Md., remembers what it sounded like when her son ,Tyler Scorza, now age 7, slept.

Enlarge Maggie Starbard/NPR Tyler Scorza lounges on his bed with his older brother, Joe, and their dog, Casey.

Maggie Starbard/NPR Tyler Scorza lounges on his bed with his older brother, Joe, and their dog, Casey.

“It was loud,” Moran says. “You could hear him through he closed door, down the hall, snoring, and he would occasionally stop breathing.” At first, Tyler’s pediatrician thought he’d outgrow the snoring. But he wasn’t sleeping well and often didn’t have any energy. The doctor recommended a head X-Ray, and the radiologist said that though Tyler’s adenoids were enlarged, they weren’t that bad. By then, Tyler had been dealing with this for almost three years. He started getting frequent nasal infections. So his parents took him to an ear, nose and throat doctor. He said, sure, the adenoids are swollen. “But the real problem is the tonsils!” Moran recalls. “He showed us on the X-ray that there was a tiny passage between the tonsils and the back of his throat — very small.” Enlarged tonsils (and adenoids) are the most common cause of sleep-disordered breathing in children. So the doctor recommended tonsillectomy. Complications From Surgery But Tyler’s parents were worried about the surgery. It’s usually done as an outpatient procedure now, but with general anesthesia. That’s never without some risk. “Your child is under,” says Moran, “completely under. This is not a local.” Other complications include pain after surgery and the risk of bleeding; about 4 percent of people have complications that require readmission to the hospital. Despite hundreds of studies, there’s still surprisingly little research on whether tonsillectomy really helps reduce the risk of sore throats. The operation continues to be controversial.

Sleep studies are a way for doctors to diagnose sleep disorders like apnea by observing patients overnight while they sleep. During a sleep study, the patient is connected to an array of sensors monitoring brainwaves, eye movements, heart rate, breathing and blood-oxygen levels. This information, called a polysomnogram, lets doctors see whether the patient has stopped breathing and for how long. Apnea in adults happens when 10 seconds pass without breathing; for children, it’s a disruption of two cycles of inhaling and exhaling. Some patients can also use portable sleep monitors to record what’s happening in their sleep as an alternative to the sleep study, but that approach is not as comprehensive. Many sleep disorders can be diagnosed without costly sleep studies, which can run anywhere from $600 to several-thousand dollars. More children are undergoing sleep studies as awareness of the condition — particularly in children — rises. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine says about 2 percent of children have obstructive sleep apnea. Before a sleep study is ordered, doctors typically ask for medical and sleep histories and a physical exam. — Eliza Barclay

No less a personage than President Obama dissed tonsillectomy when he was stumping for health care overhaul in July 2009. In a prime time news conference, Obama said that doctors may think: ” ‘You know what? I make a lot more money if I take this kid’s tonsils out.’ ” Rosenfeld disputes Obama’s claim, saying insurers usually pay a surgeon $200 to $300 for tonsil surgery. Sleep Study Before Tonsillectomy The picture is further clouded because not all children with big tonsils have sleep-disordered breathing or frequent throat infections. Because of that, in 2002 the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended that children have a sleep study before surgery is considered. About 530,000 tonsillectomies are performed in the United States each year. Obviously, parents could use some help in deciding whether surgery is needed. In January, the American Academy of Otolaryngology issued its first guidelines on tonsillectomy in children. With sore throats, the ENTs recommend waiting (and treatment with antibiotics, if needed), unless a child has more than seven infections in a year. They’d recommend surgery if a child has five or more throat infections a year for two years, or three or more in three years. There have been very few randomized studies on the effects of tonsillectomy for sleep-disordered breathing. Most of the researchers have asked parents or children whether they noticed improvements, and looked at a single measure, like behavior or quality of life. Still, the ENTs recommend tonsillectomy for sleep-disordered breathing, saying it reduces symptoms in most children. Tyler’s family decided to go ahead with the surgery; they went to the hospital at 5 a.m., and Tyler was home by noon. The doctors said he would be out of school for a week, but a throat infection kept him home a second week. His classmates sent him get-well cards. A year later, Tyler is feeling great. And his snoring is gone. “Completely gone,” his mom says. “You can hear a pin-drop quiet when he sleeps.” Tyler still hears snoring at night, he says. But he knows that the culprit is not him, or the family dog. It’s Dad.

If the popular Instagram app for iPhone has had a shortcoming, it’s that–until recently–there’s been no satisfactory way of viewing photos outside of the iPhone-only app. That started to change last week, when Flipboard added Instagram to its social networking interfaces; now InfinitApps is entering the field with its new Instagallery app for iPad.Instagallery, which debuted Sunday in the App Store, lets iPad users view their own photos and pictures taken by friends, as well as an assortment of the most popular pictures in Instagram’s social network. Photos are shown at full size, against a neutral mat background, and can be sorted according to photographer, location taken, or tag. Photos can be “liked” or photographers contacted directly to express comments and opinions.The app also allows Instagallery users to create slideshows, with display times for each photo adjusted for the user’s preferences. An auto-repeat feature can keep the show going while the iPad is docked and not otherwise in use.Instagallery costs $2, and is compatible with iPads running iOS 4.1 or later.

For more Macintosh computing news, visit Macworld. Story copyright © 2011 Mac Publishing LLC. All rights reserved.

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Facebook and boobs. The parties just can’t seem to get along. Be it what kinds of pictures to allow (photos of breastfeeding and mastectomies, for instance) or what kinds of campaigns to host (even breast cancer campaigns such as I like it on have been frowned upon by other breast cancer awareness campaigns), the social network can’t seem to steer clear of breastly woes.
Now the removal of U.K. Facebook user Melissa Tullett’s recent double mastectomy image is raising more than a few eyebrows.
The question at hand is the exact nature of Facebook’s nudity policy. Time magazine has called the policy a “war on nipples,” as breasts whose nipples are covered are allowed. And since breast cancer survivors Sharon Adams and Anna Antell were allowed to keep their photos of scars provided they did not show “further” nudity (specifically the dark areola around the nipple), Facebook’s’ decision to remove Tullett’s photo may seem like yet another policy reversal.
What seems to be the deciding factor in Tullett’s case is that her image included not just her scars but also her reconstructed nipples. “It was showing my actual tattoos, because my nipples have had to be tattooed on,” she tells the BBC. (At first her entire account was disabled, but Facebook says it has since reinstated her profile after deleting the image.)
At this point Facebook’s response is vague–the company told the BBC that the photo was removed because it contained nudity. But in fact what makes Tullett’s story notable is that its policy is now more clear than ever: the nipple, be it real or reconstructed, in a context that is strictly sexual or simply anatomical, is an offender in Facebook’s playbook.
The sentence: nipple banishment. Unless you are a man.
Facebook did not immediately respond to an e-mailed request for comment.
If you have a question or comment for Elizabeth Armstrong Moore, you can submit it here. However, because our editors and writers receive hundreds of requests, we cannot tell you when you may receive a response. Elizabeth Armstrong Moore is a freelance journalist based in Portland, Ore. She has contributed to Wired magazine, The Christian Science Monitor, and public radio. Her semi-obscure hobbies include unicycling, slacklining, hula-hooping, scuba diving, billiards, Sudoku, Magic the Gathering, and classical piano. She is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET.