As part of her PhD at the ANU School of Medicine and Psychology, Katrina Rivera is researching music performance anxiety. “There’s so much judgement about music ingrained into our society," she says. As a result, many people will choose simply not to perform music at all.

When scientists observed snow gums dying in huge numbers, they immediately suspected a beetle might be the culprit. The next step seemed easy: catch some beetles. But this is a story about what it’s like to tackle an entirely new problem, so nothing is easy. Not even catching some beetles.

Following a Blue Zone lifestyle is purported to help extend your lifespan. But do the numbers add up?

Michelle Littlefair is a PhD student at the ANU Fenner School of Environment and Society researching frogs in agricultural landscapes. She is also a dancer who uses her performances to spread awareness about frog declines. We spoke to her about how frogs have become such a large part of her life.

After reading hundreds and hundreds of PhD theses, we accidentally discovered how to write the perfect PhD acknowledgement: it's a kind of poetry.

What business does a wild animal have in contributing to our domestic bliss?