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Business Upturn
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Upturn
Detroit-based Mudita Venture Partners launches $125 million Fund II
By GlobeNewswire Published on June 26, 2025, 01:40 IST Detroit, Michigan, June 25, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Mudita Venture Fund II, a venture capital fund focusing on early-stage, business-to-business AI companies, completed its first close of $85 million toward its target of $125 million, with the remainder expected to close in the next 90 days. The fund is sponsored by Mudita Venture Partners ('Mudita'), founded by brothers Josh and Ethan Linkner. Through its sponsored funds, Mudita invents, invests in, and helps accelerate tech companies with the goal of driving economic results and leaving a positive social impact. 'The Sanskrit word 'Mudita' means to find great joy in other people's success,' said co-founder Ethan Linkner. 'Recognizing the good that successful companies can do in the world, our mandate is to drive both oversized investment returns while simultaneously elevating humanity.' Mudita Venture Fund II has an investment thesis similar to Mudita's first venture capital fund, which has built a portfolio of 23 companies pursuing groundbreaking technologies. 'We invest in and invent companies that leverage AI to deliver exponential boosts in productivity, scale, and impact,' said co-founder Josh Linkner. 'Taking a contrarian view, we prefer rigor over wild swings and focus on DeepHuman, not just DeepTech. We're not just financiers; we're business builders.' Along with the first closing, Mudita is announcing the addition of three new senior executives to the Mudita team : Sandy Schwartz has joined Mudita as Managing Partner. Most recently, the CEO of the multi-billion dollar Cox family office, Sandy has been a highly effective leader for over 40 years. He served as the CEO of Cox Automotive, a $7 billion division of Cox Enterprises. He also serves on the Board of Rivian, has extensive M&A experience, and has proven himself as a leader who drives both growth and impact. has joined Mudita as Managing Partner. Most recently, the CEO of the multi-billion dollar Cox family office, Sandy has been a highly effective leader for over 40 years. He served as the CEO of Cox Automotive, a $7 billion division of Cox Enterprises. He also serves on the Board of Rivian, has extensive M&A experience, and has proven himself as a leader who drives both growth and impact. Cyrus Mistry has joined as CEO of Mudita Studios, an affiliated innovation factory and start-up studio. A 20+ year senior executive at Google, Disney, and several hypergrowth startups, Cyrus brings multiple advanced degrees along with deep experience in technology and rapidly scaling enterprise growth. Mudita Studios is a standalone venture studio that invents, prototypes, and ultimately launches new tech companies. Mudita Studios is a laboratory of invention for venture funds like Mudita Venture Fund II as well as corporate clients. Started in 2021, the studio has launched 5 companies to date and targets launching up to 10 new ventures per year. has joined as CEO of Mudita Studios, an affiliated innovation factory and start-up studio. A 20+ year senior executive at Google, Disney, and several hypergrowth startups, Cyrus brings multiple advanced degrees along with deep experience in technology and rapidly scaling enterprise growth. Mudita Studios is a standalone venture studio that invents, prototypes, and ultimately launches new tech companies. Mudita Studios is a laboratory of invention for venture funds like Mudita Venture Fund II as well as corporate clients. Started in 2021, the studio has launched 5 companies to date and targets launching up to 10 new ventures per year. Ruchira Dasgupta has joined Mudita as its Chief Operating Officer. With over two decades of experience at the intersection of brand, strategy, and operations, Ruchira brings cross-functional leadership across global hospitality, business intelligence, and technology sectors. As COO, she oversees firm and fund operations, portfolio and platform activation, and investor engagement initiatives that scale Mudita's impact and growth. Mudita is also proud to announce the addition of four Operating Partners: Jeremie Bacon – CEO, entrepreneur, educator, and advisor in the software, recreation, and experiential hospitality and entertainment industries. – CEO, entrepreneur, educator, and advisor in the software, recreation, and experiential hospitality and entertainment industries. Janet Foutty – Former Chair of Deloitte USA and CEO of Deloitte Consulting, advisor and board member across technology, women's health, and leadership organizations, and co-author of Arrive and Thrive: 7 Impactful Practices for Women Navigating Leadership. – Former Chair of Deloitte USA and CEO of Deloitte Consulting, advisor and board member across technology, women's health, and leadership organizations, and co-author of Arrive and Thrive: 7 Impactful Practices for Women Navigating Leadership. Craig Jablonski – Cofounder & Executive Chairman of Career Now Brands, tech entrepreneur, and investor. – Cofounder & Executive Chairman of Career Now Brands, tech entrepreneur, and investor. Alan Ying, MD – Multi-time growth company CEO, investor, board member, public company executive, former cardiothoracic surgeon. 'With deeper resources and an expanded bench of world-class business builders, we embark on Fund II with both confidence and conviction,' commented Managing Partner Josh Tolman. 'We remain committed to playing an active role in driving meaningful performance for our portfolio entrepreneurs, investors, and the communities we serve.' About Mudita Venture Partners Mudita Venture Partners is an early-stage venture fund sponsor and advisor, primarily pursuing investments in business-to-business software companies that are post-revenue and pre-growth spurt. The Mudita team brings decades of entrepreneurial and operational experience to help accelerate growth and mitigate risk. Mudita only pursues investments for its funds in companies it believes will have both a positive impact on the world and drive meaningful economic returns. Mudita Studios Mudita Studios is a Mudita-affiliated venture studio, focused on inventing the next generation of disruptive technologies that can be launched as stand-alone businesses. It serves as an innovation laboratory for venture funds and corporate clients, streamlining the innovation process while applying rigorous systems and standards to enable the highest probability of new venture success. For more information about Mudita, its mission, its studio, and its portfolio, please visit Disclaimer This press release is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be, nor should it be construed or relied on in any manner as, legal, tax, financial or investment advice, and should not be used as the basis for any investment decision. Nothing contained herein constitutes an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for, any security of any investment product, service or vehicle sponsored by Mudita, including the vehicles referenced herein (each, a 'Fund'). Any such offer or solicitation may only be made pursuant to such Fund's definitive confidential private placement memorandum and related subscription documents, which will be furnished to qualified investors on a confidential basis, and otherwise in accordance with applicable securities laws. References to any current portfolio investment and future portfolio company launches are intended solely to illustrate the application of a Fund's investment process and should not be used as a basis for making any decision about purchasing, holding, or selling any securities. Nothing herein shall be interpreted or used in any manner as investment advice. The information provided about these portfolio investments and portfolio companies is intended to be illustrative only and should not be relied upon as an indication of a Fund's current or future investment performance. The performance of any Fund's portfolio investments discussed herein is not necessarily indicative of, and may differ materially from, the performance of any other Fund's portfolio investments. No assumption should be made that any future investments will be profitable or achieve results comparable to past portfolio investments. Certain statements contained in this press release constitute 'forward-looking statements.' These statements are predictive in nature and can be identified by words such as 'believe,' 'expect,' 'goal,' 'target,' 'will,' and other variations thereon and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Such statements are based on Mudita's current views, beliefs, expectations, and assumptions regarding future plans and strategies, projections, anticipated events and trends, market conditions, and other factors. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict, many of which are beyond our control. Our actual results and financial condition may differ materially from those indicated in these forward-looking statements. Therefore, reliance should not be placed on any forward-looking statements contained in this press release, which are based only on information available to Mudita and speak only as of the date hereof. Mudita expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to update, revise or supplement any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as required by law. Media Contact Full Name: Josh Linkner Title: Managing Partner and Co-Founder Company Name: Mudita Email: [email protected] Phone Number: 248.760.1398 Website: Attachment Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with GlobeNewswire. Business Upturn takes no editorial responsibility for the same. Ahmedabad Plane Crash GlobeNewswire provides press release distribution services globally, with substantial operations in North America and Europe.
Boston Globe
3 days ago
- Boston Globe
We asked if Cape traffic was worth it. You answered. And yelled. And empathized.
Write to us at . To subscribe, . TODAY'S STARTING POINT In yesterday's newsletter I asked the question: At what point is a trip to Cape Cod not worth the miserable traffic? Is the excruciatingly claustrophobic experience of trying to get on and off the Cape enough to cancel out the many magics of a Cape vacation? And you answered. And yelled. And lectured. And commiserated. And questioned my sanity. And questioned the sanity of anyone who would question my sanity. Advertisement But before I get to those, let me address something I avoided yesterday, but is front and center for me when entertaining any invitations to cross the Cape Cod Canal: Is there anything down the Cape that I can't get somewhere else, without the aggravation? Granted, I live on Cape Ann, and we have everything Cape Cod has, in miniature, but with colder water and fewer sharks. (I should add that we also have traffic. Tons and tons of hours-long backups, constantly, so definitely don't come here.) But it's not just Cape Ann. Everywhere in New England is magic in the summer. The Cape has become synonymous with summer, deservedly so. I don't think it's overrated. (Overpriced is another matter.) Instead, I think so many places are underrated, and once you allow that light to flicker in, it becomes harder to accept as fate that enduring bridge traffic is a necessary part of an epic summer. Advertisement 'No length of stay is enough' to make the traffic worth it, wrote a reader from New Hampshire named Sandy. 'Not only is it a horrible experience, I am also made acutely aware of the carbon spewing out of my and everyone else's tailpipes. It just cannot be justified.' Readers raved about the South Coast, the beaches in Rhode Island and Maine, the lakes of New Hampshire and Vermont, the culture of the Berkshires, on and on and on. That's my point. I expected those responses; what I did not expect were the sheer number of people who wrote that they had been so damaged by repeated run-ins with Cape traffic – 'I tell people that it's just like jet lag,' one wrote – that they sold their summer homes and never went back. In answer to the question of how long you need to spend down the Cape to make the hassle of getting there and back worth it, readers were tripping over themselves to shout: There is nothing that makes it worth it! 'Sorry, but no amount of time could make up for the horrendous traffic,' Frank from the North Shore wrote. 'I haven't been to Cape Cod in 30 years.' 'I've barely seen my parents in a decade since they moved to the Cape,' wrote Jeff from Middleton. And of course, there were many, many, many who emailed to explain the 'secret' to beating Cape traffic. Several even insisted this secret was so good that I was forbidden to share it (even though I had mentioned it in yesterday's newsletter). Regardless, I'll tell you again. I'm a rebel like that. Are you ready? Leave really early or really late, or go at non-peak times. Advertisement I don't have the heart to inform these people that this isn't actually a secret. The people who were sitting beside me in bridge traffic on Sunday also know this. It's just often not possible to leave at those hours, which is why peak traffic hours exist. 'The stress of the traffic, the calculations about what time will be best (maybe if we wait until 10 p.m. to drive ... , etc.), in addition to the cost, makes the Cape feel alien and distant,' wrote one woman who cherished her childhood trips to Wellfleet. 'I hit my wall with the Cape about 7 years ago,' another reader wrote. 'Had been going most every weekend for about 25 years as an adult. Can't do it any more. Traffic has sucked the fun out of it.' Still others informed me (again, like they were sharing a secret) that there are ferries and trains and even airplanes that go to Cape Cod. These are a great option if you love complicated logistics; find it easy to get to Rowes Wharf, South Station, or Logan Airport; just so happen to be going to wherever it is those planes, trains, and ferries travel to; and won't need a car when you get there. Also, the CapeFlyer train only runs once per day, and only on weekends. But at least one person offered a zen approach to balance peak traffic against peak fun. Advertisement 'My formula is four hours travel time on each end requires three full days of fun,' wrote Kathy from Jamaica Plain. 'If I start out accepting how long the trip is going to be (not how much shorter it would be if I left at 4 a.m., as my sister-in-law does) I am calmer. 'I'll be headed to Wellfleet Sunday for five full days of family, friends, and fun. And yes, it's worth the travel.' 🧩 9 Across: 91° POINTS OF INTEREST By Kaitlin Lewis Yoni Zisblatt ran through a fountain during Tuesday's searing heat. Heather Diehl for the Boston Globe Boston and New England 102: That's where Boston's temperatures peaked on Tuesday amid the suffocating heat felt across the region — Fallout from Read verdict: Karen Read's defense attorney Political ads: Many Boston voters recently received a text from an anonymous sender slamming Mayor Wu, including my colleague Shirley Leung. It's a perfectly legal move amid loopholes in Mass.' campaign laws, Protecting the vulnerable: New data shows that adult patients at the state's mental hospital in Worcester were restrained for close to two hours in most instances last year, raising concerns about patients' well-being. ( Trump administration Precarious peace, and profanity: A ceasefire between Iran and Israel appeared to hold Tuesday after initially faltering, and after Trump ripped both countries for fighting More doubts on NATO: Heading into a summit with other members of the alliance, Trump cast uncertainty over whether the US would abide by the mutual defense guarantees outlined in NATO's treaty, telling reporters it " Holding tight: Fed ChairJerome Powell said he's in a wait-and-see mode about cutting interest rates — something Trump has agitated for — because it's 'highly uncertain' how tariffs will affect consumers. ( The Nation and the World Flight cuts: JetBlue is leaving Miami as of Sept. 3, including daily flights from Boston. It's keeping service to West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale. ( Nuclear power: New York Governor Kathy Hochul said her state is looking to build a large nuclear power plant, the first undertaken in the US in more than 15 years. ( GLP-1 safety: Novo Nordisk will stop offering Wegovy through Hims & Hers — less than two months into their partnership — claiming that the direct-to-consumer pharmacy is unlawfully selling knockoff weight loss drugs. ( BESIDE THE POINT By Teresa Hanafin 💌 Love Letters: A groom-to-be asks: How can I be the best possible husband? Meredith's advice: 🪩 Being a good guest: Speaking of marriage, here are 💍 The Big Day: And the wedding stories just keep on coming. These newlyweds are independent by nature, but kept choosing 🔭 It's a new day: The largest digital camera ever built has released its breathtaking first photos of the universe, kicking off a 10-year mission to explore the changing universe in stunning detail. ( 🍬 Sweet on you: Candy is having a moment. Advertisement 🌳 'Finding Louis:' In 2022, a Dutch detectorist found something that put him at the center of a World War II story — and 🍧 Pops: These 40 recipes for delightful popsicles will keep you cool all summer. Between you and me, some of them are ice cream-adjacent. ( Thanks for reading Starting Point. This newsletter was edited by ❓ Have a question for the team? Email us at ✍🏼 If someone sent you this newsletter, you can 📬 Delivered Monday through Friday. Billy Baker can be reached at
Atlantic
4 days ago
- Climate
- Atlantic
This Wretched Heat Deserves a Name
Think of a famous storm—maybe Hurricane Katrina, gathering force over the warming Atlantic surface and pinwheeling toward the mouth of the Mississippi River to flood the great city of New Orleans. You may remember that Katrina killed more than 1,300 people. You may remember other, less deadly storms, such as Sandy, which killed dozens of people in New York City, and at least 147 overall. Now think of a famous heat wave. It's more difficult to do. And yet, heat waves can be fatal too. In 2023, scorching weather lingered for more than a month in Phoenix, Arizona, pushing temperatures to 119 degrees and killing an estimated 400 people in the county. Two years later, it's all but forgotten. A major storm is history. A major heat wave is the weather. This week's heat wave is menacing much of the entire country: Almost three-quarters of America's population—245 million people—has been subjected to temperatures of at least 90 degrees, and more than 30 million people are experiencing triple digits, according to one estimate. Yet few of us will remember this shared misery, unless we ourselves happen to be hospitalized because of it, or lose someone to heat stroke. Instead, these few days will blur together with all the other stretches of 'unseasonably warm weather' and 'record-setting temperatures' that now define summer in America. They will constitute just one more undifferentiated and unremembered moment from our extended slide into planetary catastrophe. Heat waves have always been anonymous disasters. They lack the flashy action of earthquakes, volcanoes, or plagues, and they don't show up much in ancient histories and myths. No single heat wave from human history has been assigned the narrative resonance of the Vesuvius eruption, or the mythic power of the storms that imperiled Odysseus. When heat waves do appear in stories, they tend to come in aggregate, after a series of them, occurring over months or years, have intensified droughts and famines. Our main cultural record of these collected runs of extreme heat consists of ruins left behind by civilizations that vanished after too many rainless years and failed harvests. What if heat waves could be called by name, like Katrina and Sandy? Maybe that would give them greater purchase on our cultural memory. Several organizations have recently argued that we ought to label heat waves as we do tropical storms. (This week's, if it were the first in some new system, might be called 'Heat Wave Aaron.') Supposedly, this would make heat loom larger in public discourse: More people would become aware of it and stay indoors. In 2022, a team working with the Mayor's office in Seville, Spain, piloted this idea. They assigned a local heat wave that had reached 110 degrees the name Zoe. According to a paper the team published last year, the 6 percent of surveyed residents who could recall the name without prompting also said they'd engaged in more heat-safety behaviors. No one knows whether that effect would have lasted through other heat waves, once the novelty of naming wore off for the Sevillians. Either way, the idea may be tricky to implement. In the Atlantic Ocean, fewer than 20 tropical storms, on average, are named each year. But the U.S. alone is subject to hundreds of annual heat waves, and they vary immensely in scale. Some are city-size and others—like this week's—drape themselves across the country like a thick and invisible down blanket. And unlike tropical storms, which are categorized according to wind speed, heat waves kick in at different temperatures in different places. (Seattle's heat wave might be Santa Fe's average summer day.) So which of these deserve a name tag, and which ones don't? Even if the naming idea catches on, these details will need working out. Alas, heat waves will likely remain anonymous for most of us for a good while longer, if not forever. But perhaps we should not be so ashamed of this. Our inability to record these sweltering spells in a more conspicuous way is shared by the natural world, which rarely shows the marks of an episode of hot weather in any lasting way. A storm or earthquake can reconfigure a landscape in a single moment of violence, leaving behind scars that can still be seen with the naked eye millennia later. In nature, as in culture, heat waves tend to show themselves after they have piled up into a larger warming trend. Only then are they visible in tree rings and ice cores, in coastlines that move inland, and in the mass extinctions that glare out from the fossil record—a thought to console yourself with as you wait for this week's heat to break.
Newsweek
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
Hilarity at Reason Dog Thinks John Travolta Is 'Serenading' Her on TV
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Hearts have melted at a dog who recognized her name on TV and thought she was being "serenaded." Hannah Veglas, owner of social-media marketing agency Hannah Grace Media, is from Boston, Massachusetts, and is the proud owner of rescue dog Sandra, aka Sandy. "She was actually our ninth foster dog before we adopted her and made her a permanent family member," Veglas, who got the mixed breed from the Animal Rescue League of Boston, told Newsweek. "She is a mix of 20 breeds, with yellow lab being a main one—although she's only 42 pounds," Veglas said. This is a far cry from the average Labrador retriever's weight of up to 80 pounds, according to the American Kennel Club (AKC). Sandra is a "foster fail," the term given to a dog who begins as a foster animal but who the owners cannot give up and instead adopt them permanently. And in a video from Sandra's puppyhood, showcasing her adorable personality, it is clear why Veglas was unable to let her go. In the clip, posted to TikTok account @sassysandramae on June 18, Veglas showed Sandra sitting on the sofa watching the TV, where 1978 musical comedy movie Grease is playing. The classic film stars Olivia Newton-John as female protagonist Sandy, and Veglas captured the moment her puppy reacted to John Travolta singing about the character. From left: Sandy the dog reacts as John Travolta sings her name on TV. From left: Sandy the dog reacts as John Travolta sings her name on TV. TikTok @sassysandramae "That time my puppy, Sandy, thought John Travolta was singing directly to her," Veglas wrote across the clip. As Travolta croons the hit "Sandy," the dog, who has been watching intently, suddenly jumps to her feet and moves to the other side of the sofa to get closer. "Is he calling you?" Veglas says, as the puppy looks briefly at her before returning her attention to the TV. Veglas wrote in the caption: "She thought THE John Travolta was serenading her," and told Newsweek: "In this video, it was her first time watching Grease. "She was so responsive to it, now she practically begs for me to put it on the TV!" Grease has become a big part of Sandra and Veglas's life together—the duo even dressed in matching outfits for Halloween, dressing as members of the Pink Ladies clique. And Sandra, naturally, wore a blonde wig as she went as Newton-John's character. From left: Hannah Veglas and Sandy the dog are seen dressed as Pink Ladies from "Grease" for Halloween. From left: Hannah Veglas and Sandy the dog are seen dressed as Pink Ladies from "Grease" for Halloween. TikTok @sassysandramae TikTok users loved the unusual video, watching it more than 1.3 million times, as one commenter wrote: "He was definitely singing to her." "Well why wouldn't he be singing to her, she's a princess," another posted, as a third, also named Sandy, assured the pup: "It's OK Sandy, I went through this phase too." And as one comment summed it up: "That is the most adorable thing I've ever seen." Veglas said that, when this video was taken, they had never tried gaging Sandy's reaction to hearing her name on TV, but since then, they've done it multiple times, with Grease and the musical Annie, as the main character has a pet dog, Sandy. In another clip later shared to TikTok, Sandy can be seen tilting her head back and forth at the TV, as Annie sings about her own dog. Veglas captioned that clip: "Big Annie fan too!" Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@ with some details about your best friend, and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
National Observer
5 days ago
- Health
- National Observer
Climate disasters can alter kids' brains before they're even born
This story was originally published by Grist and appears here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration When Superstorm Sandy made a beeline for New York City in October 2012, it flooded huge swaths of downtown Manhattan, leaving 2 million people without electricity and heat and damaging tens of thousands of homes. The storm followed a sweltering summer with a procession of heat waves nearing 100 degrees. For those who were pregnant at the time, enduring these extreme conditions wasn't just uncomfortable — it may have left a lasting imprint on their children's brains. That's according to a new study published on Wednesday in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS One. Using MRI scans, researchers at Queens College, City University of New York, found that children whose mothers lived through Superstorm Sandy had distinct brain differences that could hinder their emotional development. The effects were even more dramatic when people were exposed to extreme heat during their pregnancy, in addition to the tropical storm, the researchers found. 'It's not just one climate stressor or one isolated event, but rather a combination of everything,' said Donato DeIngeniis, the lead author of the study and a doctoral student in neuropsychology at the CUNY Graduate Center. DeIngeniis' study is the first of its kind to examine the joint effects of natural disasters and extreme heat — events that often coincide. A few years ago, scientists dubbed summer 'danger season' since it's a time of colliding risks, including heat, hurricanes, wildfires, and toxic smoke. And summertime temperatures keep climbing to new heights. The study analyzed brain imaging data from a group of 34 children, approximately 8 years old, whose mothers were pregnant during Superstorm Sandy — some of whom were pregnant at the time that Sandy made landfall, and some of whom were exposed to heat 95 degrees F or higher during their pregnancy. While the researchers didn't find that heat alone had much of an impact, living through Superstorm Sandy led to an increase in the basal ganglia's volume, a part of the brain that deals with regulating emotions. While that larger size could be a compensation in response to stress, changes in the basal ganglia have been linked to behavioral challenges for children, such as depression and autism, DeIngeniis said. 'What we are seeing is compelling evidence that the climate crisis is not just an environmental emergency, it is potentially a neurological one with consequence for future generations who will inherit our planet,' said Duke Shereen, a co-author of the study and the director of the MRI facility at CUNY Graduate Center, in a press release. Global warming made Superstorm Sandy more damaging as a result of rising sea levels and higher ocean temperatures that might have amped up its rainfall. Yoko Nomura, a co-author of the study and a psychology professor at the Queens College, CUNY, said that the time before birth is 'very, very sensitive' for development because the fetus' body is changing so drastically. The human brain grows the most rapidly in the womb, reaching more than a third of its full adult volume before birth, according to the study. Any added stress at that time, even if small, 'can have a much bigger impact,' Nomura said. But that extra-sensitive period also presents a window of opportunity. 'Developmental science, including the science in this paper, is exciting because it not only tells us what we can do to protect children from the effects of climate change, but it also tells us when we can step in to protect children to make the greatest difference,' Lindsey Burghardt, chief science officer at the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, said in an email. Although there's a lot of evidence that prenatal stress generally can affect child brain development, according to DeIngeniis, research on climate-related stress specifically is lacking. 'It is still a field that has potential for explosive growth,' said Jennifer Barkin, a professor at Mercer University School of Medicine in Macon, Georgia, who is studying the effects of last year's Hurricane Helene on maternal health. DeIngeniis' study offers concrete evidence of how climate-charged events can affect the brain, Barkin said. 'People have a hard time sometimes with mental health, because it's not like you can take an X-ray and see a broken bone.' But it's easier to understand imaging showing a difference in brain volume based on exposure to environmental stress, she said. Barkin, who developed an index for measuring maternal health after childbirth, says that people are beginning to pay more attention to mothers and their mental health — not just in terms of delivering a healthy baby, but over the long term. 'We tend to focus things on the child's outcome, which is important, but to keep the child healthy, the mother has to be healthy, too,' she said. 'Because when Mom's struggling, the family's going to struggle.'
