The experimental antibody drug given to President Donald Trump has been called one of the most promising approaches to preventing serious illness from a COVID-19 infection.Its maker, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., said the company agreed to supply a single dose, given intravenously, for Trump at the request of his physician under “compassionate use” provisions, when an experimental medicine is provided on a case-by-case emergency basis, while studies of it continue.The new drug is in late-stage testing and its safety and effectiveness are not yet known. No treatment has yet proved able …

Cameroon says more than 9 million girls aged 9 and above risk developing cervical cancer because their parents have been convinced the human papillomavirus, or HPV, vaccine makes their daughters sterile. Some communities that had accepted the vaccination are now refusing it, claiming that what is being administered now are dangerous experimental COVID-19 vaccines. The government, doctors and female medical staff members are now working to convince parents the HPV vaccination reduces the risk of cervical cancer.   To counter misconceptions, groups of 20 young women move from market to …

While the world wants flashy quick fixes for everything, especially massive threats like the coronavirus and global warming, next week’s Nobel Prizes remind us that in science, slow and steady pays off.     It may soon do so again.   Science builds upon previous work, with thinkers “standing on the shoulders of giants,” as Isaac Newton put it, and it starts with basic research aimed at understanding a problem before fixing it. It’s that type of basic science that the Nobels usually reward, often years or decades after a …