Vitamin D wards off TB (The Advocate) Vitamin D may help fight tuberculosis, reports the BBC. A study of 131 people at Queen Mary’s School of Medicine and Imperial College found the vitamin helped the body inhibit the growth of bacteria that causes the respiratory disease. [News Source]

Study: Heavy vitamin use may be linked to advanced prostate cancer (ABC 7 Chicago) There's more worrisome news about vitamins: Taking too many may increase men's risk of dying from prostate cancer. [News Source]

Calcium, vitamin D might help women lose pounds (ABC 7 Chicago) Taking calcium and vitamin D may help older women fight off unwanted pounds. [News Source]

Lower Risk Of Age-Related Macular Disease And Higher Intake Of Fish And Vitamin D Levels Linked (Medical News Today) Individuals who have higher dietary intake of foods with omega-3 fatty acids and higher fish consumption have a reduced risk of advanced age-related macular degeneration, while those with higher serum levels of vitamin D may have a reduced risk of the early stages of the disease, according to two reports in the May issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. [click link ... [News Source]

Jeff Stier: No Precautionary Principle When It Comes to Dubious Vitamins (HuffingtonPost) Yet again, another study points to the dangers of vitamin supplements. The latest study, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute , found that heavy use of multi-vitamins doubled a man's risk of dying of prostate cancer. The study is by no means conclusive. And any college level science major could point to problems with this study and it's conclusions, tentative as they are. ... [News Source]

Clearing the air. For more than three centuries, tobacco has been a proverbial pillar of the Palmetto State’s agricultural economy, rooting itself in the politics and culture of South Carolina. [News Source]

Collins targets mercury pollution. Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins has joined two colleagues in introducing legislation to create a nationwide mercury monitoring program to detect harmful levels of the heavy metal in the environment. [News Source]

Mysterious killer of America’s honeybees could make dinner bland. Unless someone or something stops it soon, the mysterious killer that is wiping out many of the nation's honeybees could have a devastating effect on America's dinner plate, perhaps even reducing us to a glorified bread-and-water diet. [News Source]

Sustainability theme of event. Powell River Regional District rural directors will be receiving a citizens' award at a special event being held on the May long weekend. [News Source]

Pass the arugula. Three companies—Sodexho USA, Aramark and Chartwells—are competing for the dining contract at CSU-Monterey Bay. [News Source]

Climate: the food chain’s weakest link. Even McDonald's admits it needs to be aware of 'all this emerging science' as the domestic food supply is already beginning to be affected by climate change. [News Source]

The conundrum of autism. A recent symposium at the Institute of Medicine examined possible environmental causes for autism spectrum disorders, particularly the interactions between genetic susceptibility, environmental chemicals and exposures to microbes. Questions far outnumber answers. [News Source]