Why is the Zika Virus outbreaking now?
It seems to me there are two parts to your question. First, how did the Zika virus get to Brazil, which is the 'epicenter' of the current outbreak? Second, why is a virus that was previously considered more or less benign suddenly associated with (not yet definitively) microcephaly (a congenital birth defect) and Guillain-Barré syndrome (a neurological disorder)?The two most likely ways for the virus to have arrived in Brazil are in a human being (infected by the virus) or in a mosquito (carrying the virus). In the first scenario someone infected with the virus travels to Brazil, is bitten by an Aedes mosquito that subsequently bites and infects another person, and this process is repeated. In the second scenario, live mosquitoes carrying the virus arrive in Brazil on an airplane or a ship, or mosquito eggs arrive on merchandise shipped to Brazil (for more on mosquito mobility, see Rich Pollack's answer to Can mosquitoes travel across the Atlantic?).CDC's advisory on Zika says the virus is asymptomatic in 80% of infected people and causes usually mild symptoms in the remaining 20%. The link to birth defects and neurological disorders is new. There is evidence of recent mutation in the Asian lineage of the Zika virus, which is the lineage present in Brazil. If a causal relationship to microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome is established, adaptive change of the virus might explain changes in its virulence. Photo: Aedes aegypti, James Gathany, Wikimedia Commons
How risky it is to live as friends with a HIV-positive person and how to avoid contagion?
It is equally risky to live with an HIV-negative friend as it is with an HIV-positive friend, provided you don't intend to do intravenous drugs or have unprotected sex with these friends. Then it depends on what other STIs or diseases the HIV-negative friend has.This is one of the biggest misconceptions about HIV. I have well-respected colleagues of mine who were doing home visits with clients (we are social workers) and said the other day "I found out that client had HIV so I immediately used some hand santizer." To which I responded, "did she have a particularly dirty home? Because the hand santizer is an irrelevant factor in the transmission of HIV."It's not like the common cold. Compared to many diseases, illnesses, and germs, HIV is actually pretty difficult to transmit. There's no airborne way to get HIV. You can't share a spoon, fork, knife, or toothbrush and be at risk. If someone with HIV coughs on you, chances are, if you've got a really weak immune system, you may get a cough. More likely, you will be grossed out because friends don't cough on one another.You are at risk for the transmission of HIV (and many other STIs) if there is contact with blood, semen, vaginal fluids, or breast milk AND a mucus membrane. HIV is a get IN you, not get ON you virus. You could spend your days licking your friend who is HIV- positive's mouth or feet and at the end of the day, you would likely just have an odd taste in your mouth and one less friend because, again, that's a bizarre behavior.So, live with your friend! His/her HIV status should have less impact on your decision than if he/she is a clean roommate. And when people ask, "Oh my god, aren't you afraid that you are going to get it too!?" kindly let them know they've been misinformed. Spread the knowledge, not the ignorance.
You are given an unlimited amount of money for 24 hours, after which your bank balance goes back to normal. What do you spend your money on?
Do the questioner realize what one can do with unlimited money in 24 hours?Enough to essentially control anything you want.So here is what I would do (Do take in mind everything is written as a hypothetical and should not be taken seriously).The question states that the unlimited spending balance will cease to exist after 24 hours. This doesn't account for any money earned during the 24 hour window.Hour 1–12: Have a trust set up by the best lawyers in the world. Make them account for every possible detail. Spend a billion if needed.Buy every available stock in Lockheed Martin and General Electric. Congratulations to myself, as I now own a company with state-of-the-art missile production facilities as well as classified next-generation weapons destined for the U.S. Military (LM).I will now own the General Electric-conglomerate. That gives me ownership over the LARGEST manufacturer of nuclear reactors, aircraft engines, wind turbines, and much, much more.Within a short timespan I will now have earned enough money off these two companies alone to retire for good. I will also have the capabilities to produce nuclear weapons and control vital infrastructure.Bribe every single politician to make it happen. Bribe everyone.Hour 12–24: Buy stocks in every major company in the world.My trust will now proceed to buy the majority of stocks in Facebook, Twitter, Google, Apple, Microsoft, IBM, Shell, British Petrol, Petronas, Gazprom, Novo Nordisk (medicine firm), Mapp Biopharmaceuticals (inventor of Ebola cure) and much more.I will then order my trust to buy stocks - or just outright buy - in every major arms manufacturer in the world, no matter the cost. Izhevsk, Heckler & Koch, FN Herstal, Colt, Oerlikon. Make it happen. At this point I am running amok with power, and will spare no cost.At 2400 hours: My trust (and therefore myself) should now be the most powerful, most influential entity in the entire world.At this point my unlimited spending balance will cease to exist. It wouldn't matter. I will in essence never need to speculate about money anymore. Concern of money are not to be had at my level.