The agency's complaint says that some of POM's studies did not show heart disease benefits and that the prostate cancer study wasn't conducted in a standard, scientifically rigorous manner.
On Sunday, the board voted to keep the nine at-large seats for now, but also defined the study explicitly to review the need for the seats, not just the manner in which they should selected.
Ha Jin, who left his native China in 1985 to study at Brandeis University and then remained in the U.S., tells this tale in an impeccably deadpan manner.