Young Noble, a member of rap group the Outlawz and a Tupac Shakur affiliate, has died at the age of 47.
The emcee, whose real name is Rufus Lee Cooper III, reportedly took his own life in Atlanta, according to fellow Outlawz member E.D.I. Mean who shared the news of his death on social media.
“Today I got some of the worst and unexpected news imaginable,” he wrote.
“My brother and partner for over 30 years took his life this morning. Rest in Power Rufus Young Noble Cooper. I obviously am in no shape to talk about this right now so PLEASE give his family and I some time to process this. Mental illness is a real battle being fought by so many.” Shakur’s Instagram account, managed by his estate, reposted the message.
The rapper was best known for his work with the Outlawz and appearances on Shakur tracks including “Hail Mary” and the posthumous “Baby Don’t Cry (Keep Ya Head Up II).” Throughout his career, he released five solo albums and numerous collaborative projects with artists including Layzie Bone, Krayzie Bone and Dead Prez’s Stic.Man.
Cooper was born in Sierra Madre, CA, and moved to New Jersey when he was eight years old. It was there that he met fellow Outlawz members Yaki Kadafi and Hussein Fatal and started recording music.
He connected with Shakur after moving back to California and made his debut on the rapper’s 1996 album “The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory,” appearing on the opening track “Bomb First (My Second Reply)” and as part of the Outlawz on “Just Like Daddy” and “Hail Mary.”
Over the years, Cooper amassed a sizable discography following his solo debut “Noble Justice” in 2002. He released his most recent album “Outlaw University” in 2023.
Following news of his death, several of his associates posted on social media in his remembrance. “RIP to my Thug Brother @young_noble just got the devastating news,” wrote Layzie Bone.
“I think of Edi and his whole family. My condolences to his family Wife and kids and friends and fans rest up eternal bro. This mental health is a scary thing.”
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Microsoft is reportedly exiting Pakistan. The software giant is quitting Pakistan after 25 years. Microsoft is said to have been reducing its headcount and operations in the country over the last few years, and has now fully pulled out of Pakistan. Microsoft started its operations in Pakistan in June 2000. The news of Microsoft exiting Pakistan was revealed in a LinkedIn post by Jawwad Rehman, the founding head of Microsoft Pakistan. There has reportedly been no formal public announcement from the company itself. However, according to a report by Tech Radar, the move was all but confirmed already, with full operations shut down in Pakistan and only a liaison office with around five employees remaining.
‘End of an Era… Microsoft Pakistan’
In the post titled ‘End of an Era… Microsoft Pakistan’, Rehman wrote: “Today, I learned that Microsoft is officially closing its operations in Pakistan. The last few remaining employees were formally informed and just like that, an era ends… Exactly 25 years ago, in June 2000, I had the honor of launching and leading Microsoft Pakistan.”He added that Microsoft’s decision to quit Pakistan calls for reflection, “Today’s news forces reflection. This is more than a corporate exit. It’s a sobering signal of the environment our country has created.. one where even global giants like Microsoft find it unsustainable to stay. It also reflects on what was done (or not done) with the strong foundation we left behind by the subsequent team and regional management of Microsoft.” He further said that it is time to ask what has changed about Pakistan that has made global corporations leave the country. “We must ask: What changed? What was lost? What happened to the values, leadership, and vision that once made it all possible?” he wrote. Reflection further, he said, “Allah grants honor and opportunity to whom He wills.. and takes it away from those who lose sight of it. But if your work leaves behind impact, integrity & inspiration.. then know that Allah’s favor was with you.” In another post, Rehman asked the Honourable Minister of IT and the Government of Pakistan to “actively engage Microsoft’s regional and global leadership” so that the company can maintain a presence within Pakistan.
Global food commodity prices edged higher in June, supported by higher meat, vegetable oil and dairy prices, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization said on Friday.
The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in a basket of internationally traded food commodities, averaged 128.0 points in June, up 0.5% from May. The index stood 5.8% higher than a year ago, but remained 20.1% below its record high in March 2022.
The cereal price index fell 1.5% to 107.4 points, now 6.8% below a year ago, as global maize prices dropped sharply for a second month.
Larger harvests and more export competition from Argentina and Brazil weighed on maize, while barley and sorghum also declined.
Wheat prices, however, rose due to weather concerns in Russia, the European Union, and the United States.
The vegetable oil price index rose 2.3% from May to 155.7 points, now 18.2% above its June 2024 level, led by higher palm, rapeseed, and soy oil prices. Palm oil climbed nearly 5% from May on strong import demand, while soy oil was supported by expectations of higher demand from the biofuel sector following announcements of supportive policy measures in Brazil and the United States.
Sugar prices dropped 5.2% from May to 103.7 points, the lowest since April 2021, reflecting improved supply prospects in Brazil, India, and Thailand. Meat prices rose to a record 126.0 points, now 6.7% above June 2024, with all categories rising except poultry.
Bovine meat set a new peak, reflecting tighter supplies from Brazil and strong demand from the United States.
Eating foods known to trigger inflammation during pregnancy could increase the risk of children developing type 1 diabetes later in life, according to a new Danish study.
Published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, the research indicates that a maternal diet high in inflammatory foods raises a child’s diabetes risk by approximately 16% for each incremental increase in inflammation-inducing foods consumed.
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition in which insulin-producing cells in the pancreas are destroyed, requiring lifelong insulin therapy.
The incidence of type 1 diabetes is rising by about 3-4% annually, particularly in developed countries.
This trend suggests environmental factors, including maternal diet during pregnancy, could play a significant role.
Researchers from Denmark analysed dietary data from nearly 68,000 women who took part in the Danish National Birth Cohort between January 1996 and October 2002. The mothers completed detailed dietary questionnaires during mid-pregnancy, around 25 weeks, providing information on 38 food groups comprising more than 360 items.
The scientists then calculated an empirical dietary inflammatory index (EDII) score, indicating how likely certain foods were to promote low-grade inflammation.
Foods commonly associated with inflammation include red and processed meats, sugary drinks, refined carbohydrates like white bread and pasta, deep-fried items, pastries, margarine, and products containing trans fats.
Among the children tracked over an average of 17 years, 281 were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes around 0.5% of the total group with an average age of 10 at diagnosis.
Higher maternal EDII scores indicating greater consumption of inflammatory foods were linked with younger maternal age, higher body mass index (BMI), lower socioeconomic status, shorter breastfeeding duration, and smoking during pregnancy.
Mothers with higher inflammatory diets tended to eat more red meats, margarine, pizza, savoury snacks, French fries, potatoes, and low-fat dairy products. In contrast, lower EDII scores correlated with higher intake of anti-inflammatory foods such as leafy vegetables, garlic, onions, tomatoes, whole grains, dark-meat fish, tea, coffee, and fruits.
For every single-unit increase in the EDII score – approximately moving from the bottom third to the top third of inflammatory food consumption – the risk of a child developing type 1 diabetes increased by about 16%.
Interestingly, researchers also noted that increased gluten consumption during pregnancy further amplified this risk. Every additional 10 grams of gluten intake was associated with a 36% increase in the child’s type 1 diabetes risk.
The researchers emphasised that pregnancy appears to be a crucial period where maternal lifestyle, including diet and smoking habits, can influence the child’s later health.
Lead researchers stated, “These findings suggest mid-pregnancy might be a particularly sensitive window where maternal diet and lifestyle significantly influence a child’s future risk of developing type 1 diabetes.”
While this observational study cannot definitively prove cause and effect, it highlights the potential importance of reducing inflammatory foods during pregnancy to promote long-term health for both mother and child.
In the past fifteen years, five missions have returned samples of extraterrestrial material to Earth for analysis. These included missions that rendezvoused with Near Earth Asteroids (NEAs), like the Hayabusa 1 and 2 and the OSIRIS-REx missions, and the Chang’e-5 and
-6 missions, which brought back samples from the far side of the Moon. In the coming years,
China plans to return samples from 469219 Kamoʻoalewa with its Tianwen-2 mission. With all the extraterrestrial materials being returned to Earth for analysis, one could argue that we are entering a “golden age of sample-return missions.”
As a result, efforts are underway to create facilities where scientists can safely contain, curate, and analyze these samples. At the University of Leicester’s Leicester Space Park, scientists are working on a Double-Walled Isolator (DWI) to store and analyze extraterrestrial materials safely. This could include future samples returned from Mars, which NASA and other space agencies are planning to do through crewed or robotic missions expected to happen during the late 2020s or early 2030s.
The DWI is essentially a miniature version of a clean room and is designed to keep materials at a high level of containment and cleanliness. This is ensured by an inert gas environment and state-of-the-art robotics (an arm and other manipulator technologies) to move samples between containment, an optical microscope, and a Raman spectrometer. These measures minimize interactions between scientists, prevent cross-contamination, and preserve sample integrity so scientists can obtain accurate results when conducting analyses.
As Andrew Cheney, DWI QM Project Manager at Space Park Leicester, said in a University of Leicester press release:
The SRR is a major milestone for the project that shows that we’ve fully understood the customer need, and translated that into a set of requirements to proceed with confidence into the design phase. Generating a good set of requirements is arguably the hardest part of any project and takes a lot of research, analysis, and industry expertise.
Now [that] we have that agreed baseline, we look forward to the design phase and the many, many challenges it will bring for this unique piece of equipment. We have a relatively compressed period now to push a concept through to detail design and manufacture. The dedicated qualification phase will involve simulating end-to-end curatorial and scientific processing of martian analogue samples at SPL.
This €5 million ($5.89 million) project was initially developed for the NASA/ESA Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission and builds on previous work where the Leicester team created a design for a prototype DWI. In the new phase, the Leicester team will be collaborating with experts from several British universities and institutes, including the Open University, the Francis Crick Institute, Imperial College London, and the Natural History Museum. They’ve also partnered with Extract Technologies, a UK-based manufacturer of advanced isolator technologies, to provide a detailed design for the main isolator and manufacture it. Said John Holt, DWI QM Principal Investigator at Space Park Leicester:
Whether or not an astronaut or a robotic spacecraft brings samples back from Mars, the Double Walled Isolator (DWI) is a key UK technology that enables planetary scientists to scrutinise returned rocks to understand the Martian environment and if there is microscopic evidence for life on the red planet. The milestone review [SRR] we have just conducted carefully looked at the complex needs of scientists to ensure we design an ultra-clean system that allows them to handle the precious samples and use a wide range of analytical techniques to unlock the secrets within each piece of rock.
The facility recently passed its System Requirements Review (SSR) with the European Space Agency (ESA) and is now proceeding to the Design and Qualification phase. Currently, there are four missions in the works to return samples from Mars, including NASA’s proposed crewed missions to Mars, China’s Tianwen-3, JAXA’s Martian Moons eXploration (MMX), and Russia’s Mars-Grunt mission.
A pharmacist checks the weight of Paracetamol, a common pain reliever also sold as acetaminophen, tablets inside a lab of a pharmaceutical company on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, India, March 4, 2020. — Reuters
Common bacteria can turn plastic waste into the over-the-counter painkiller acetaminophen, researchers have discovered.
Acetaminophen, the main ingredient in Tylenol and also known as paracetamol in some countries, is usually made from fossil fuels.
The new method, developed with support from AstraZeneca, transforms a molecule from a widely used plastic known as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) into Tylenol’s active ingredient, leaving virtually no carbon emissions, according to a report in Nature Chemistry.
The plastic is converted to the drug at room temperature in less than 24 hours, using a fermentation process similar to what is used in brewing beer, the researchers said.
PET, a strong, lightweight plastic used for water bottles and food packaging, accounts for more than 350 million tons of waste annually.
“This work demonstrates that PET plastic isn’t just waste or a material destined to become more plastic. It can be transformed by microorganisms into valuable new products, including those with potential for treating disease,” study leader Stephen Wallace of the University of Edinburgh said in a statement.
More work is needed before PET can be used to produce acetaminophen at commercial levels, the researchers said.
Microplastics found in human reproductive fluids
The majority of men and women have microplastics in their reproductive fluids, according to the results of a small study reported at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology meeting in Paris.
The presence of the microplastics raises important questions about their potential risks to fertility and reproductive health, researchers said.
The tiny contaminants – plastic particles under 5 millimetres in size – were present in the follicular fluid that encases developing eggs in the ovaries in 20 of 29 women, or 69%. Microplastics were found in seminal fluid in 12 of 22 men, or 55%.
Both types of fluid play critical roles in natural conception and assisted reproduction, the researchers said.
In both groups, the microplastic polymers included polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon), polystyrene, polyethylene terephthalate, polyamide, polypropylene and polyurethane.
In animals, microplastics can induce inflammation, damage to tissues and to DNA, and hormonal disruptions, study leader Emilio Gomez-Sanchez of Next Fertility Murcia in Spain said in a statement.
In a separate presentation at the meeting, Manel Boussabeh of Fattouma Bourguiba Hospital in Monastir, Tunisia, and colleagues reported that sperm exposed to microplastics in test tubes had impaired motility and damage to DNA.
Other researchers have previously found significant amounts of microplastics in the testicles of dogs and humans, and the canine data suggested the particles may contribute to impaired fertility.
Restoring a protein can turn off chronic inflammation
Researchers can turn off chronic inflammation while leaving intact the ability of cells to respond to short-term injuries and illnesses by targeting a newly identified protein, according to a report in Nature.
Chronic inflammation occurs when the immune system is stuck in overdrive, as with persistent conditions such as arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease or obesity. Acute inflammation – with pain, fever, swelling, and redness, for example – resolves relatively quickly.
Researchers found that a protein responsible for controlling inflammatory genes becomes degraded and is lost from cells during chronic inflammation.
In test tube experiments, restoring the protein called WSTF blocked chronic inflammation in human cells without interfering with acute inflammation, allowing appropriate immune responses to short-term threats.
The researchers then designed a medicine that protects WSTF from degradation and suppresses chronic inflammation by blocking the WSTF interaction with another protein in the cell nucleus.
The researchers have successfully tested the drug to treat mice with fatty liver disease or arthritis and to reduce inflammation in chronically inflamed knee cells obtained from patients undergoing joint replacement surgery.
Studying human tissue samples, the researchers found that WSTF is lost in the livers of patients with fatty liver disease but not in the livers of healthy people.
“Chronic inflammatory diseases cause a great deal of suffering and death, but we still have much to learn about what drives chronic inflammation and how to treat it,” study leader Zhixun Dou of Massachusetts General Hospital said in a statement.
“Our findings help us separate chronic and acute inflammation, as well as identify a new target for stopping chronic inflammation that results from ageing and disease.”
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an urgent warning about tianeptine – a substance marketed as a dietary supplement but known on the street as “gas station heroin”.
Linked to overdoses and deaths, it is being sold in petrol stations, smoke shops and online retailers, despite never being approved for medical use in the US.
But what exactly is tianeptine, and why is it causing alarm?
Related: FDA Issues Eye Drops Warning After Deadly Outbreak of Bacterial Infections
Tianeptine was developed in France in the 1960s and approved for medical use in the late 1980s as a treatment for depression.
Structurally, it resembles tricyclic antidepressants – an older class of antidepressant – but pharmacologically it behaves very differently. Unlike conventional antidepressants, which typically increase serotonin levels, tianeptine appears to act on the brain’s glutamate system, which is involved in learning and memory.
It is used as a prescription drug in some European, Asian and Latin American countries under brand names like Stablon or Coaxil. But researchers later discovered something unusual, tianeptine also activates the brain’s mu-opioid receptors, the same receptors targeted by morphine and heroin – hence it’s nickname “gas station heroin”.
As a prescription drug, tianeptine is sold under various brand names, including Stablon. (IllusionalFate/Wikimedia Commons)
At prescribed doses, the effect is subtle, but in large amounts, tianeptine can trigger euphoria, sedation and eventually dependence. People chasing a high might take doses far beyond anything recommended in medical settings.
Despite never being approved by the FDA, the drug is sold in the US as a “wellness” product or nootropic – a substance supposedly used to enhance mood or mental clarity. It’s packaged as capsules, powders or liquids, often misleadingly labelled as dietary supplements.
This loophole has enabled companies to circumvent regulation. Products like Neptune’s Fix have been promoted as safe and legal alternatives to traditional medications, despite lacking any clinical oversight and often containing unlisted or dangerous ingredients.
Some samples have even been found to contain synthetic cannabinoids and other drugs. According to US poison control data, calls related to tianeptine exposure rose by over 500% between 2018 and 2023. In 2024 alone, the drug was involved in more than 300 poisoning cases. The FDA’s latest advisory included product recalls and import warnings.
Users have taken to the social media site Reddit, including a dedicated channel, and other forums to describe their experiences, both the highs and the grim withdrawals. Some report taking hundreds of pills a day. Others struggle to quit, describing cravings and relapses that mirror those seen with classic opioid addiction.
Since tianeptine doesn’t show up in standard toxicology screenings, health professionals may not recognise it. According to doctors in North America, it could be present in hospital patients without being detected, particularly in cases involving seizures or unusual heart symptoms.
People report experiencing withdrawal symptoms that resemble those of opioids, like fentanyl, including anxiety, tremors, insomnia, diarrhoea and muscle pain. Some have been hospitalised due to seizures, loss of consciousness and respiratory depression.
UK legality
In the UK, tianeptine is not licensed for medical use by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and it is not classified as a controlled substance under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. That puts it in a legal grey area, not formally approved, but not illegal to possess either.
It can be bought online from overseas vendors, and a quick search reveals dozens of sellers offering “research-grade” powder and capsules.
There is little evidence that tianeptine is circulating widely in the UK; to date, just one confirmed sample has been publicly recorded in a national drug testing database. It’s not mentioned in recent Home Office or Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs briefings, and it does not appear in official crime or hospital statistics.
But that may simply reflect the fact that no one is looking for it. Without testing protocols in place, it could be present, just unrecorded.
Because of its chemical structure and unusual effects, if tianeptine did show up in a UK emergency department, it could easily be mistaken for a tricyclic antidepressant overdose, or even dismissed as recreational drug use. This makes it harder to diagnose and treat appropriately.
It’s possible, particularly among people seeking alternatives to harder-to-access opioids, or those looking for a legal high. With its low visibility, online availability and potential for addiction, tianeptine ticks many of the same boxes that once made drugs like mephedrone or spice popular before they were banned.
The UK has seen waves of novel psychoactive substances emerge through similar routes, first appearing online or in head shops, then spreading quietly until authorities responded. If tianeptine follows the same path, by the time it appears on the radar, harm may already be underway.
Michelle Sahai, Computational Biochemist, Brunel University of London
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Gaming on a Nintendo DS can bring back great memories of long car trips from the past. But looking back, we remember wishing to play more than the DS could ever hope to handle. [fami] looks into the SuperCard DSTWO in her recent video, a solution to our past sorrows.
Able to play anything from the very games designed for the DS to emulated PS1 games, the DSTWO is more than capable of surpassing the abilities of the DS itself. More impressively, all games are run directly from the cartridge itself rather than on the DS’s hardware. While this emulated console within a handheld is impressive, it is far from simple to get running.
The DSTWO runs with an Ingenic JZ4732 as the CPU, completely different from any native architecture of the DS. Pair this with the unhelpful SDK made for the cartridge, and the aging hardware is held together by the community development behind any improvements. This is aided by the CPU similarities of another widely modded game console, the Dingoo A320.
When not having a fit, and after going through hours of troubleshooting, you might find the DSTWO running a game of SimCity 2000 or even Spyro the Dragon inside a DS. Even with the difficulties of use, the fact that these games run at all is impressive. If you want to try the DSTWO emulation yourself, check out the forums.
This is far from the only example of extreme care going into emulation. Here at Hackaday, we have covered similarly impressive projects such as this completely DIY handheld made for any retro game emulation you throw at it.
