There was a very depressing book my parents made me read a little bit of as a child, but I can't quite remember the name. It was kind of an odd fantasy/sci-fi hybrid. It had interweaving plots between characters in a bit of a primitive culture. The societies were superstitious and would perform acts of mutilation on newborn babies, sacrifice of their own children, offering of animals, etc...fearing punishment otherwise from an unknown entity. Some characters would perform magical feats of an elemental or physical nature. I do remember one of the primary characters was killed then reanimated as a zombie, but I have to admit, I had to put the book down at that point, even as a 7 year old I could tell GI Joe had a more coherent plot on a weekly basis (plus no one ever got hit by the laser shots from the guns which was more age appropriate). I do have to admit i'm still fascinated it was so popular. I remember them referring to it something like Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth, but I can't remember the true title. If I think of it i'll update my post.

Its true currently an average of 50% of adults are seropositive for HSV1, but as an individual statistics state 80% - 85% of people over the age of 60 are infected, so odds are slim you will avoid being inflicted with the HSV1 virus (cold sores)before you die. However with the advances being made in understanding the virus' ability to reactivate and stay hidden, drugs will most likely be developed within the next ten years that destroy the virus' ability to replicate making it almost entirely non-contagious, and within twenty years we'll have a technique/drug that will be capable of killing it where it hides in the trigeminal ganglion located in the brain, which extends to the face/lips. However newer research is indicating that not just HSV1, but a large host of viruses previously thought to be harmless (such as other members of the HSV family Cytomegalovirus & Epstein-Barr virus) eventually cause build up of plaque in the brain causing cognitive decline, particularly combined with the ApoE4 gene variation, which I believe this study linking HSV1 & Alzheimer's is referring to. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/541533 http://genome.wellcome.ac.uk/doc_WTX038956.html