The pandemic seems to have made us all amateur (or at least wanna-be) epidemiologists. The even more geeky among us have learned a lot about immunology as well. Immunologist Matthew Woodruff, who has written a number of stories for us since the pandemic began, provides an in-depth explanation of the “coordinated dance” that the immune system of pregnant women must perform – and the role vaccines play in that. His piece explains why pregnancy is a significant risk factor for COVID-19 and how the research shows that vaccines are vital for pregnant women.

In reading Chris Impey’s story on the James Webb Space Telescope, I learned of a period in the universe’s history I hadn’t heard of before: the Dark Ages. Impey, an astronomer at the University of Arizona, explains in lay terms how this mission, set for launch in December, is engineered to learn about the period after the Big Bang – the Dark Ages – and other mysteries, such as when galaxies formed. “Some of the biggest unanswered questions about the universe relate to its early years just after the Big Bang,” he writes.

As any parent knows, kids seem to spend a whole lot of time with screens of various kinds. Is this harming their development and mental well-being? In a recent study, Ph.D. student Katie Paulich from University of Colorado Boulder found five hours a day for preteens doesn’t appear to be harmful in terms of mental health. Her write-up provides a nuanced look at the findings, including caveats and room for more research.

Also in this week’s science and research news:

• Reducing fuel in forest is best tool for fighting wildfires
• Chaos is not the same as randomness – and why it matters to science
• Why it took so long to produce a vaccine for malaria

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