The Pentagon ruled American soldiers who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder are not qualified to receive the Purple Heart medal for the disorder because it does not qualify as a wound.

Defense Department spokeswoman Eileen Lainez explained that based on Purple Heart criteria, having PTSD does not qualify as a wound for purposes of qualifying for a Purple Heart because the PTSD was caused by witnessing or experiencing a traumatic event and it is not a wound intentionally caused by an enemy.

Two states simultaneously launched anti-obesity campaigns at the start of 2009.

On Wednesday New York Gov. David Paterson in his first State of the State address, announced proposals to ban trans fat in New York restaurants and require dining establishments to post calorie information on their menu.

Having a Caesarean section early to make delivering a baby more convenient comes with health risks, according to a study released this week.

The study, from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, looked at more than 24,000 infants, and found that those delivered at 37 weeks to mothers who had elective C-sections were almost twice as likely as those born at 39 weeks to have complications like bloodstream infections and breathing problems.

Federal investigators are trying to find the source of salmonella bacteria that has sickened 388 people across the United States over the last three months. Seventy people have been sent to the hospital, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The outbreak has impacted 42 states, Bloomberg reported, and CDC officials are working with state officials and their colleagues in the Food and Drug Administration to identify the source of the bacteria. The outbreak began in October, according to the CDC, with the most recent case reported Dec. 29.

Scientists have discovered a dangerous new way in which bacteria transfer toxic genes to unrelated bacteria species.

This finding raises the scary possibility that bacterial swapping of toxins and other disease-aiding factors might be more common than previously thought.