Living

Sergio is a 21-year-old college student in San Diego, majoring in business administration. He is openly gay and undocumented, having crossed the border illegally from Mexico with his family when he was 2.

Only about a quarter of adults have advance directives in place. On the relatively infrequent occasions when people do sign advance directives, they're usually thinking about what they would want in a crisis rather than for a chronic illness.

The recent shooting in Tucson has drawn attention to mental illness. But data from the National Institute of Mental Health finds violence is not typical for people with severe mental illness.

The new Autism Discovery Institute in San Diego is one of only three facilities like it in the country and the first in California.

There have been advances made in speech therapy since the 1930s when Britain's King George IV worked to overcome his stammer, as well as new insights into what causes stuttering.

Librarians from across the country are in San Diego for the next several days taking part in a national conference about the state of libraries. Organizers say one challenge most libraries are facing is the e-book revolution.

As the new year begins, those who indulged over the holidays may resolve to put down the cookies and pick up the dumb bells. What roles do exercise and genetics play in weight gain and obesity? What foods should we eat, and what foods should we avoid? We'll speak to science writer Gary Taubes who questions what's making us fat-and how we can change in his new book, "Why We Get Fat And What To Do About It."

A holiday visit to Bloomington

When you're ready to unload your holiday tree, the city of San Diego will turn it into garden mulch. The grinding happens at the Greenery at the Miramar Landfill.

A look at the past week.