Shakespeare Hits Sing Sing • Menopausal Women Exhibit Difficulties Learning?

• This month, inmates at Sing Sing performed Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” as part of the Rehabilitation Through the Arts program, with convicted killer Dario Pena as the violent king. “The character just jumped out at me,” he said. “I could identify. I saw a lot of myself in the character.” •

• In contrast to earlier studies, new research has found that strict maternal control over a child’s eating habits does not lead to an increased risk of obesity. Previous studies have focused mainly on girls, but the new research takes both male and female children into account. • Cambodian sex-worker-turned-advocate Somaly Mam says the bad economy has had a negative impact on the women’s shelter she helped to start. “Since we opened the shelter, I always face this problem. Like the last five months, no rice, we cannot feed the children,” says Mam. • Research indicates that women in abusive relationships are more than three times as likely to test HIV positive than those who have not experienced intimate partner violence. • The latest trend in fitness? Nostalgia: 80s-style aerobics classes are back. • Good news for all the ladies who shun softball: the International Baseball Federation is campaigning for the inclusion of women’s baseball in the 2016 Olympics. • A recent study from Canada found that babies of East and South Asian descent are more likely to be underweight at birth than Caucasian children. • Hmm. This game of Whack-A-Kitty: Cute or on the cusp of animal abuse? • New research has linked bacterial vaginosis, which can make women more susceptible to STDS, to vitamin D deficiency. Since black women are more likely to have a shortage of vitamin D, they are also at an increased risk for infection. • Disadvantaged women in India are benefiting from new community radio projects, which allow marginalized women, who often have little formal education, to broadcast their opinions on local and national issues. • Women entering menopause may have more trouble learning than at any other stage in life, a new study says. Experts believe that the temporarily-impaired memory skills exhibited by women during this time may be due to hormonal fluctuations. •