What happened
The Duke of Edinburgh has stressed the need to centre attention on those harmed by Jeffrey Epstein as renewed scrutiny falls on his brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. The remarks follow the release of further US court files connected to Epstein that include photographs and correspondence referencing Andrew and his former wife Sarah Ferguson.

Who said what
Speaking at the World Governments Summit in Dubai, Prince Edward said it was “really important, always, to remember the victims”.

“This is not just a political scandal,” agreed Marina Hyde in The Guardian. It is a “time to refocus on the horrific mistreatment of women and girls”.

What next?
Andrew, who lost his royal titles and previously settled a civil case while denying any wrongdoing, has not responded publicly to the latest allegations. Pressure is growing for him to give evidence to US authorities amid questions about whether he will do so voluntarily.

Meanwhile, the US justice department said it had removed thousands of Epstein-related documents and media from circulation yesterday after mistakenly releasing material containing possible victim-identifying details, blaming the lapse on a technical or human error.

What happened
The launch of Artemis II, the first manned mission to the Moon in more than 50 years, has been delayed until next month after hydrogen leaks were discovered during testing “designed to identify problems and provide Nasa with an opportunity to fix them before launch”, according to science website Ars Technica.

Who said what
Engineers had “pushed through several challenges” during the two-day test and “met many of the planned objectives”, said Nasa officials in a statement. But the agency has decided to conduct a “second wet dress rehearsal”, meaning the launch will not go ahead this month as originally planned.

“As always, safety remains our top priority, for our astronauts, our workforce, our systems and the public”, said Nasa administrator Jared Isaacman. “We will only launch when we believe we are ready to undertake this historic mission.”

What next?
Artemis II’s four astronauts will be released from the quarantine they entered on 21 January and resume training. The next launch opportunity for the mission is 6 March. Artemis II will not land on the Moon directly, but will travel around it before returning to Earth 10 days later.

Scientists are putting the pedal to the metal in the race to develop new antibiotics. Metal-based drugs could open up a new world of medicine, especially as antimicrobial resistance is growing. Researchers have also found a way to create and test these metal compounds much faster than before through the use of robots.

Robotic chemistry can be used to produce and trial metal-based antibiotics, according to a study published in the journal Nature Communications. Most modern antibiotics are organic or carbon-based and tend to interact with bacteria in predictable ways. However, metal-containing compounds have a unique geometry that “allows them to interact with bacteria in completely different ways, potentially overcoming the resistance mechanisms that defeat current drugs”, said a release about the study.

An iridium metal complex was specifically identified as a promising antibiotic drug. It “demonstrated high effectiveness against bacteria, including strains similar to the deadly MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), while displaying low toxicity to human cells”, said the release.

The findings come at a time when antibiotic resistance is becoming more of a danger. “The pipeline for new antibiotics has been running dry for decades,” Dr Angelo Frei, the lead author of the study, told Live Science.

Still, because bacteria evolve quickly, there is a risk of resistance developing to these compounds over time. The good news is that robotic chemistry can significantly speed up research. “The iridium compound we discovered is exciting, but the real breakthrough is the speed at which we found it,” said Frei. “This approach could be the key to avoiding a future where routine infections become fatal again.” The method could also be used beyond antibiotics to help further several other areas of biomedical research.