Skeptics Guide #1024

The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe Skepticast #1024 February 19th 2025 Segment #1. News Items News Item #1 – Bird Brain Evolution https://theness.com/neurologicablog/birds-separately-evolved-complex-brains/ News Item #2 – Air Pollution Inside Homes https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/02/250213144623.htm News Item #3 – Abortion Bans Drive Infant Deaths https://undark.org/2025/02/18/some-states-claim-zero-abortions-is-that-possible/ https://www.livescience.com/health/fertility-pregnancy-birth/us-abortion-bans-have-driven-a-surge-in-infant-deaths-study-finds News Item #4 – Black Holes without Singularities https://phys.org/news/2025-02-singularities-physicists-creation-black-holes.amp News Item #5 – Anti-Chemtrail Bill https://cbs2iowa.com/news/local/house-gop-seeking-more-answers-as-they-advance-anti-chemtrails-bill Segment 2. Who’s That Noisy Segment #3. Your Questions and E-mails Question #1: Asteroid Hitting the Moon I was reading up on asteroid 2024 YR4, and I came across this on its Wikipedia page: ''Calculations using the observation arc of 55 days as of 18 February 2025 find that 2024 YR4 has a 1-in-32 (3.1%) chance of impacting Earth on 22 December 2032 around 14:02 UT and a smaller possibility of impacting the Moon about an hour later around 15:19 UT.'' I know you've talked about this asteroid before and the potential consequences if it were to hit Earth - not great, not terrible. Given the timeframe, there would at least be some opportunity to evacuate affected areas. But what about the Moon? Since the Moon is much smaller, could a direct hit pose a greater risk of destabilizing Earth's tides, for example? Is this something to be concerned about, and what kind of consequences might we expect if it actually happens? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this, and thanks for all the skeptical work you do! Best, Stefan Magnusson Segment #4. Swindlers List Tax Scams Segment #5. Science or Fiction Each week our host will come up with three science news items or facts, two genuine, one fictitious. He will challenge our panel of skeptics to sniff out the fake – and you can play along. Theme: GMOs Item 1: According to the USDA, 55% of US cropland grows genetically modified crops, while worldwide the figure is 13.4%. Item 2: Although frequently a target of anti-GMO efforts, there is currently no GMO wheat variety on the market. Item 3: Scientists have developed a “scorpion cabbage” that produces scorpion venom in its leaves, but this has yet to gain approval in any country. Segment #6. Skeptical Quote of the Week "The kneading of memory makes the dough a fiction which as we know can go on yeasting forever." A beautifully poetic way to phrase the rewriting nature of memory and recall.