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German Idealism changed the world and influenced politics. art and numerous other fields. The ways in which it shaped the modern world have been the subject of a three-year research project, which reaches its conclusion in Cambridge this week. —Nick Boyle The culmination of an international project which aims to trace the legacy of German Idealism - an explosion of philosophical ideas which emerged from Germany during the 19th century - begins in Cambridge today (Thursday, 6 September).

An ancient Italian town whose remains are buried beneath the earth has been mapped by a team of researchers, revealing evidence of a bustling social and economic settlement 1,500 years ago. Having the complete streetplan and being able to pick out individual details allows us to start zoning the settlement and examine how it worked and changed through time." —Martin Millett An ancient Italian town, which disappeared after its abandonment 1

New research indicates that a bird's ability to detect changes in air pressure is the evolutionary remnant of an ancient sense organ found in sharks and sturgeons. The PTO's function is likely to have been modified in birds for detecting air pressure during flight." —Clare Baker Latest research shows that the 'paratympanic organ' (PTO) - the innate barometer in the middle ear of birds - evolved from a fish sense organ that detects jaw movement.

Research examines the link between a traumatic upbringing and personality traits which increase the risk of addiction. This relationship is interesting because impulsive personality traits are known to increase the risk of becoming addicted to drugs but it is not an excuse for drug-taking." —Dr Karen Ersche, of the Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute (BCNI) at the University of Cambridge Previous research has shown that personality traits such as impulsivity or compulsiveness are indicators of an increased risk of addiction.

A second season of excavations at Britain's biggest Iron Age hill-fort has uncovered remains of Roman weaponry, and the site of the first "ham stone" house. The fort's construction marked a major transformation of the landscape as a considerable area of farmland had to be abandoned." —Chris Evans, Cambridge Archaeological Unit.

Tsunamis are caused by earthquakes under the seabed. Some tsunamis - including the disaster that hit Japan last year - are unexpectedly large. Cambridge scientists suggest that their severity is caused by a release of gravitational energy as well as elastic energy. We hope that our research represents a step forward in understanding how large tsunamis occur." —Professor James Jackson Scientists at Cambridge University have developed a model that may show why some tsunamis - including the one that devastated Japan in March 2011 - are so much larger than expected.

One of the first stages of developing the new renewable energy source under an industrially relevant environment. Until now, no inexpensive molecular catalyst was known to evolve H2 efficiently in water and under aerobic conditions.

The placenta is the interface between the mother and her baby, which means it is not only key to a successful pregnancy, it determines the future health of every one of us. Only relatively recently have we discovered that there is no significant maternal blood flow to the placenta in the early weeks of pregnancy" —Professor Graham Burton In this film Professor Graham Burton discusses how the Trophoblast Centre was established to generate a fresh approach into placental research.

Our work shows clearly that the patterns currently seen in the Neanderthal genome are not exceptional, and are in line with our expectations of what we would see without hybridisation." —Dr Andrea Manica, from the University of Cambridge, who led the study New research raises questions about the theory that modern humans and Neanderthals at some point interbred, known as hybridisation.

Study successfully reconstructed temperature from the deep sea to reveal how global ice volume has varied over the glacial-interglacial cycles of the past 1.5 million years. The only way we can work out what the likely effects of the changes we are making to the climate will be is by finding analogues in the geological past.

Delirium also found to worsen severity in those already diagnosed with dementia and increase the pace of cognitive decline. Because some delirium is preventable, it is plausible that delirium prevention may lead to dementia prevention." —Dr Daniel Davis Older people who have experienced episodes of delirium are significantly more likely to develop dementia, according to new research.

When mimicry becomes less effective, evolving to look completely different can be a successful trick. Our research shows that individuals assess disguises not only from personal experience, but also by observing others. However, because their learning is so specific, this social learning then selects for alternative cuckoo disguises and the arms race continues." —Dr Rose Thorogood, co-author on the paper from the Departement of Zoology To minimise the chance of being recognised and thus attacked by the birds they are trying to parasitize, female cuckoos have evolved different guises.

UK researchers have shown for the first time that instead of fleeing randomly when faced with danger, sheep head straight for the centre of the flock. Having an understanding of normal behaviour means that changes in behaviour can be linked to the progress of neurological diseases such as Huntington's disease." —Professor Jenny Morton from the University of Cambridge Understanding this behaviour in healthy animals may help researchers understand the breakdown in social behaviours caused by neurological disorders in sheep, as well as those in humans, such as Huntington's disease.

Ceramics found on the coast of the Adriatic attest to a hitherto unknown artistic culture which flourished during the last Ice Age, thousands of years before pottery was commonly used. We are starting to see that several distinct Palaeolithic societies made art from ceramic materials long before the Neolithic era, when ceramics became more common." —Preston Miracle Evidence of a community of prehistoric artists and craftspeople who "invented" ceramics during the last Ice Age - thousands of years before pottery became commonplace - has been found in modern-day Croatia.

Essentially, we have created a new recipe for mother of pearl using nature's cookbook." —Professor Ulli Steiner, of the Department of Physics' Cavendish Laboratory Mimicking the way mother of pearl is created in nature, scientists have for the first time synthesised the strong, iridescent coating found on the inside of some molluscs.

The traditional image of Neanderthals as gritty people who spent most of their time out hunting might not be entirely accurate, according to a new study revealing that they may have had to devote hours to daily subsistence tasks instead. —Colin Shaw Our extinct prehistoric cousins, the Neanderthals, may have spent less of their time living the rugged life of the hunter and more of it carrying out tedious domestic chores, a new study suggests.

Andy Parker, Professor of High Energy Physics at the Cavendish Laboratory, sheds light on today's announcement and 'what next'. Cambridge has worked on the Large Hadron Collider since 1989 and was among the research groups which founded the ATLAS experiment." —Andy Parker, Professor of High Energy Physics at the Cavendish Laboratory Researchers from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN have today, 4 July 2012, confirmed that they have found a new particle consistent with the long-sought Higgs Boson.

Many homes with poor energy efficiency are actually consuming far less energy than predicted, new research has found. The study has implications for national energy-saving policies and the economic viability of thermal retrofit programmes. This challenges the prevailing view that large cuts in energy consumption can be achieved by focusing purely on technical solutions, such as retrofitting homes.

The first images of an upward surge of the Sun's gases into quiescent coronal loops have been identified by an international team of scientists. The discovery is one more step towards understanding the origins of extreme space storms, which can destroy satellite and damage power grids on Earth.

A landmark study of criminal activity in teenagers indicates that some never see crime as a course of action while others are vulnerable to environmental inducements to crime. The study reveals factors that explains why some young people are 'crime-prone' and others 'crime-averse', and explains why crime hot spots occur.