OGN Monday
- Editor OGN Daily
- 19 hours ago
- 4 min read
Kick-starting the week with some tasty bite-sized nuggets of upbeat news.
The Louvre
The museum is launching an architecture competition and soliciting designs for a $316 million expansion. The project will involve building a new entrance and a special room to display Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. A global panel of experts will select five finalists in October, and the winner will be announced in early 2026. The Louvre is housed in a 16th-century palace built by the French king Francis I. It was a royal residence until the 17th century, when Louis XIV built the Palace of Versailles, a new home for France’s monarchs. Since then, the Louvre has become the most-visited art museum in the world with nearly nine million visitors per year. Currently, the museum’s main entrance is in the Napoléon courtyard at the iconic glass pyramid designed by architect I.M. Pei, which was installed during the museum’s last major renovation in the 1980s. The newly announced competition seeks designs for a second entrance, to be located on the palace’s eastern side near the Seine River.
"Wonderful Effect"
While countries clamour to ban smartphones in schools, fresh research from the Netherlands - one of the first to do so - suggests that its ban has made students more sociable, improved their focus and boosted academic performance. According to a study commissioned by the Dutch government, three-quarters of the 317 surveyed high schools said that the ban had boosted students’ concentration, while nearly two-thirds noted an improvement in the social climate. One-third reported better academic performance.
Plane Trees
As Europe sears in a heatwave, new research reveals that we may have underestimated the ability of trees to keep our cities cool. As well as providing shade, urban trees keep surrounding areas cool through a process known as transpiration - whereby plants lose water through evaporation. While it’s long been assumed that transpiration slows in extreme heat, Swiss scientists now believe that the opposite is true in plane trees. Rather than slowing, transpiration continued in Geneva’s planes at temperatures above 39C (102F).
"Life-Saving"
A “gamechanging” device that preserves donor organs by replicating conditions inside the human body has won the Royal Academy of Engineering’s MacRobert Award. The gong, which honours engineering feats, marks a departure from from the traditional way of preserving donor organs on ice. Instead, it mimics life inside the body, allowing donor organs to be preserved for longer, which can be a matter of life and death in emergencies.
Noah's Ark For Plants
More than 2,000 native plants are thriving under the care of a 20-woman-strong gardening team at the Gurukula Botanical Sanctuary in Kerala, India. This is one of the "world's hottest hot spots of biodiversity," said The Guardian, and in the last four decades, the sanctuary has grown from 7 acres to 79. Deforestation and climate change threaten the region, but Gurukula stands out as a "Noah's Ark for endangered plant species," including different types of rare impatiens and ferns.
Range Anxiety?
Lucid now has an official Guinness World Records trophy to add to its cabinet, as its Air Grand Touring model just managed to complete just under 749 miles on a single charge while traveling on public roads. The record-breaking journey started in St. Moritz, Switzerland and finished in Munich, Germany, with the trip taking in winding mountain passes, fast highway sections and narrow secondary roads in a true display of real-world range.
Prices Slashed
At Gavi's recent pledging summit the manufacturers of both the RTS/S and R21 malaria vaccines committed to drastically reducing their prices over the next five years. The cuts will free up an extra US$130 million for malaria immunisation efforts and allow Gavi reach 50 million more African children by 2030. "These commitments bring us closer to reaching half a billion children and expanding access to lifesaving vaccines," says Catherine Russell, UNICEF Executive Director.
"Are you a politician asking what your country can do for you or a zealous one asking what you can do for your country? If you are the first, then you are a parasite; if the second, then you are an oasis in the desert." Kahlil Gibran
On This Day
14 July 2013: The world's last telegrams were sent as India's state-run telecommunications company ended its telegraph service. Hundreds of people thronged the 75 telegraph offices remaining in the country to send their last telegrams to friends or family as a keepsake.
The electric telegraph was developed in the mid-19th century and for more than 100 years was the principal means of transmitting printed information by wire or radio wave.
Today's Articles
NYC Congestion Charge: Perhaps the fastest environmental improvements from any policy in US history.
Cosmic Baseball: Game played with UV reflective neon balls and fluorescent jerseys under black lights.
Mood Boosting Video
Usonia: The utopian community hidden in the United States.