Things I learned these past few months

Below, a quick roundup of a few of the things I learned over the past few months. Migratory freshwater fish are in steep decline, with populations down roughly 81% since 1970. These species depend on long, connected rivers, but dams and human pressures are cutting off their routes. (CMS) The Rymer variety of cooking apple, once believed to have died out, has been found on a rural property in the New South Wales Southern Tablelands. (ABC) Researchers testing children’s shirts from multiple fast fashion retailers found every sample exceeded U.S. safety limits of lead, raising concerns about toxic exposure—especially since young kids often chew on clothing. Brightly colored fabrics like red and yellow showed particularly high levels of lead, likely due to chemicals used to fix dyes. (American Chemical Society) More than 110 new fish and invertebrate species were recently discovered during a CSIRO voyage in the deep Coral Sea. Sharks, rays, crabs, sea anemones, worms and sponges were…