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"There have been as many plagues as wars in history; yet always plagues and wars take people equally by surprise." Albert Camus wrote that in his classic The Plague back in 1947, and the words are as true now as they were then. That's one reason why a UW lab is collaborating with a local biotech company to study some of the world's most lethal pathogens: to help prevent mass casualties in the unlikely event of germ warfare.

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Dr. Adam Ostrzenski says he's found the G spot - you know, the actual G spot, that somewhat mysterious place in the female anatomy said to hold the key to sexual pleasure. And he didn't just find it by accident after a night of drinking or extended cuddling. Rather, he went to Poland and found the G spot of a 83-year-old dead woman.

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If anyone needed just a little more proof that being ridiculously rich is totally awesome, Avatar and Titanic director James Cameron and Microsoft-made mega-billionaire Paul Allen gave us a reminder this weekend - with Cameron, a National Geographic "Explorer-in-Residence," diving to the deepest part of the ocean Sunday in a one-man vessel known as the Deepsea Challenger, and Allen traveling to Guam via his big-ass yacht, Octopus, to follow Cameron's dive with "special underwater radio technology" ... and then tweet about it incessantly.

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Scientists can study your brain and to learn how to cure diseases. We have the technology, but not enough scientists. So where does a local brain research center look for cash? If you're lucky enough to be The Allen Institute, then you just go back to your founder, local billionaire Paul 'I'm giving away money like it's candy" Allen of course.

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Our feature story this week examines the unusual controversy surrounding I-502, the ballot initiative that proposes legalizing, selling and taxing marijuana in Washington. The measure would also establish a limit for THC blood content for drivers -- sort of like the .08 limit for booze -- and that has caused some longtime crusaders for marijuana legalization to vehemently oppose it. They worry the proposed standard is low enough that stoned drivers would be at risk of being busted for DUI, even if they're driving stone cold sober. But is that fear supported by science?

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Here's a happy thought to start your week: malaria's global death toll in 2010 was roughly 1.2 million people, about twice as high as experts previously believed. The staggering new casualty count is the result of some exhaustive research by scientists at the University of Washington, and it could have serious implications for global health organizations.

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Scientists and government officials initially believed that the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan last year sent millions of tons of trash on a collision course with Hawaii and the West Coast. But nine months later, the flotsam is still lost at sea somewhere and perhaps not nearly as enormous as originally thought.

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Is it Indian or Turkish?

As it looks for business opportunities in the U.S., Turkey has been wooing Indian tribes. Colville Reservation Business Council Chair Michael Finley was one of 20 Indian leaders brought to Turkey last year. He says he heard that the Turks feel "related" to Native Americans. "Literally."

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As our feature story this week makes clear, the fight against HIV/AIDS is far from over. But researchers from the University of Washington and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have made significant progress developing a vaccine for the virus, and the Gates Foundation has spent more than $2.2 billion funding the science.

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This week's feature story details some fascinating research from the University of Washington about a suspected link between HIV and the birth control shot Depo-Provera. While the contraception is most popular in sub-Saharan Africa, there are a few local connections that should give Seattle residents pause.

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