When Trump first announced the Board of Peace, it was thought to be aimed at helping end the two-year war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and oversee reconstruction. But in the last month, its mission has appeared to go beyond one conflict, with many wondering if the Trump-chaired board, made up of about two dozen countries, is meant to sideline the United Nations.
A view through a microscope as foam derived from castor oil extracts microplastics from water. New research at Louisiana State University shows that the structure of the foam can remove a wide variety of microplastics from water. (Louisiana State University)
Bodies of water around the world face a human-made problem invisible to the naked eye, but new research from Louisiana State University could one day help remove it.
Microplastics are extremely small particles of plastics that can be about 200 times smaller than the width of a human hair. They can spread throughout environments either directly, from things like synthetic clothing fibers or certain soaps, or are created as pieces of larger plastics break down over time.
“Microplastics have been discovered everywhere, from the remote mountains to the ocean depths,” said Bhuvnesh Bharti, an LSU chemical engineer and co-author of new research published in the Royal Society of Chemistry academic journal.
The tiny pieces of material are hard to remove from water and can impact people and animals that consume them. Bharti has developed an eco-friendly foam from a fatty acid found in castor oil that can remove a wide variety of microplastics from water.
“You can think of it as a three dimensional spider web,” Bharti said.
Most methods used to remove microplastics from water use some kind of chemical agent that binds to the particle, according to Bharti. The agent is very specific to plastic being removed, comparable to a key made for an individual lock.
Bharti’s castor-oil foam works more like a master key, able to remove multiple types of microplastics from water at the same time. In lab studies, it can filter out around half of microplastics in water on the first try and up to 85% with multiple cycles of filtration.
The foam is also eco-friendly, the fatty acid able to degrade easily and naturally in the environment. Other removal methods such as using various salt compounds to remove microplastics are effective, but can be harmful to the environment and to humans, causing skin irritation and burns.
Research into microplastics and how to address them is still very new, Bharti said. There are still mysteries as to how much these tiny plastic pieces can affect human health.
Marcus Garcia, a pharmaceutical research fellow at the University of New Mexico, has focused his research on how emerging contaminants, such as microplastics, are impacting humans. The particles are present in the water and food sources on which humans rely, he said.
“Should this be something that we’re all concerned about? Absolutely,” Garcia said, adding that his work now attempts to understand the accumulation of microplastics in human brains, hearts and kidneys and whether it’s connected to health conditions such as arterial plaque buildup and neurodegenerative diseases.
“The amount of accumulation we’re seeing in the environment is following the same accumulation or time frame in which we’re seeing a lot of these health conditions arising,” he said.
Advancements in research to remove microplastics from water would ultimately reduce these potential health concerns, Garcia added.
Despite Bharti’s promising study at LSU, his foam faces challenges. The product is expensive, he said, costing anywhere from $1 to 1.50 per liter of water, while other methods cost next to nothing.
It also hasn’t yet been tested in environments with multiple types of contaminants, such as heavy metals and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, better known as PFAS or “forever chemicals.”
“When we actually have these large water bodies with different kinds of contaminants in there, not only microplastics … how would they interact with these fatty acid molecules? Can they form foam?” asked Bharti. “We don’t know yet.”
This first-step study shows the possibilities of physically filtering microplastics and areas where further research is needed.
“It’s in very early stages,” Bharti said, adding that it would take more time and more research to see if it could be used at a larger scale to help the problem of plastic pollution.
The government of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes is being extorted by cybercriminals after a ransomware attack shut down its schools and critical systems in January.
The Rhysida ransomware gang took credit for the attack this week and demanded 10 bitcoin, or about $660,000, in exchange for not leaking information stolen from the systems of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, a federally recognized government headquartered in Concho, Oklahoma.
Officials previously confirmed the ransomware attack in January.
The tribal government said the cyberattack began on December 8, 2025, when its IT team discovered an attempted intrusion by threat actors. Systems were shut down and the tribe worked with its insurance provider on the recovery effort.
A follow-up statement from tribal governor Reggie Wassana confirmed they dealt with a ransomware attack and federal authorities were brought in to help.
“The criminals have targeted hundreds of notable companies such as Target, Xerox, Carnival Cruises, Blue Cross Blue Shield as well as local hospitals and airlines. Ironically, it is the high profile and financial success of our tribe that made us a prime target,” he said in a letter to the tribe.
“Let me be clear: This was a terrorist attack, and WE DID NOT NEGOTIATE NOR SURRENDER. These criminals have not, and will not, receive one cent from the members of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes.”
Wassana committed to continue paying employees of the local Lucky Star Casino as the recovery effort continued through January. The tribe governs about 12,000 residents.
The tribe’s Department of Education also warned the attack took down its computers, email and phone system. Students were not penalized for any delays in returning assignments as a result of the internet outages.
Tribal administrations across the U.S. were targeted by ransomware gangs in 2025. The city of Durant, just three hours away from Concho and the capital of the Choctaw Nation, was hit with a cyberattack last year, and tribes in Minnesota and Michigan were also attacked by ransomware gangs.
The Rhysida ransomware gang has repeatedly targeted governments across the globe, including Kuwait’s Finance Ministry, as well as the transportation department of Maryland, the city of Seattle and the city of Columbus, Ohio.
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