With two weeks to go before the October launch of the online health insurance marketplace, confusion abounds over the realities of ObamaCare. Julie Hamos, director of the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, and Cristal Thomas, Deputy Governor for Public Policy, explain the new health care law and the state's insurance marketplace exchange.

One in 20 U.S. children are severely obese, and the numbers are rising while treatment remains limited. What does this newly defined class risk mean? A panel of medical experts joins us to discuss.

According to new data released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in four cardiovascular deaths – that is, 200,000 of 800,000 – are completely preventable. What more can be done to save these lives? We gather some leading experts for a frank assessment of heart disease in America. View graphs of data on heart disease.

Lyme disease is on the rise across the nation and state. We talk with a panel of experts about its prevalence in the Chicago area, and how you can prevent infections. Read a fact sheet about symptoms and prevention.

We revisit a story about two families and the medical director at a burgeoning new clinic for kids questioning their gender at Lurie Children's Hospital. Read an article and watch a web extra video.

In Expecting Better, University of Chicago economics professor Emily Oster argues that much of the conventional wisdom about pregnancy isn’t supported by data. She joins us to pinpoint the most egregious myths. Read an excerpt.

End-of-life decisions are deeply difficult to make. That’s why Dr. Mary Mulcahy and Chicago journalist Randi Belisomo are trying to get more people to have these conversations preemptively. They join us to discuss Life Matters Media, their new initiative to get people to talk more openly about death. Read an article and watch a video essay.

Less than a week after medical marijuana became legal in Illinois, the first clinic opens in Chicago. But it's still going to be a while before patients get their prescriptions filled.  Eddie Arruza has the details.

Could patients complaining of early signs of dementia be right -- even if tests say they're perfectly normal? We have some of the latest Alzheimer's research, including "subjective cognitive decline," when people sense that their memory is failing, even when no one else can notice a difference. Read an article.

The Obama administration has delayed a portion of the Affordable Care Act, which will extend the deadline for employer mandated health care to 2015. Bruce Japsen, a health care reporter for Forbes, joins us to break down the employer mandate and explain the implication of the extension. Read a Q&A.

A food additive that has been used for decades is stirring up controversy. We talk with a Chicago researcher who is in the midst of clinical trials to uncover its potential hazards. Read an article about carrageenan.

A new book called How We Do It: The Evolution and Future of Human Reproduction explores the science of sex and childbirth. Read an excerpt.

The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that human genes are off-limits for patent protection. Read the full opinion, and a Q&A with a bioethics professor about the impact of the ruling on the medical community.

A new ad campaign is turning heads and raising eyebrows. We talk with the commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health about this new effort to highlight teen pregnancy.

We spoke with Sara Schwarzbaum, professor in the family counseling department at Northeastern Illinois University and founder of Couples Counseling Associates in Chicago, to get her thoughts on the impact of the ad campaign featuring pregnant boys.

With a medical marijuana bill on the governor's desk, we hear more about what diseases it can treat and the chemistry behind how it works.