(Reuters) - The American Civil Liberties Union has asked for a second time that the Supreme Court invalidate Myriad Genetics Inc's patents on two genes associated with hereditary breast and ovarian cancers, the latest salvo in a case with broad consequences for the future of gene-based medicine.
The lawsuit against Myriad and the University of Utah Research Foundation, which hold patents that allow the company to control testing for the genes, alleges that the patents are illegal and restrict scientific research and patients' access to medical care.
The lawsuit was filed by the ACLU and the Public Patent Foundation on behalf of medical associations, geneticists, patients and breast cancer and women's health groups, the ACLU said on Tuesday.
The Supreme Court had sent back the ACLU's previous lawsuit to the U.S. Federal Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. It asked the appeals court to reconsider an earlier decision upholding the patents in light of a March decision by the high court that rejected a similar case about a patented method for monitoring a patient's blood.
However by a 2-1 vote, the appeals court in August again ruled that companies can obtain patents on genes.
The Supreme Court is not required to take up the case and will likely first give Myriad a chance to respond before deciding whether to hear the case or let the appeals court ruling stand.
"In our view, the court of appeals did not fully consider or correctly apply the Supreme Court's most recent and relevant patent law decisions," ACLU attorney Chris Hansen said in a statement.
Myriad did not immediately return calls seeking comment on the ACLU action.
The genes in question, known as BRCA1 and BRCA2, can be used to detect risk of breast and ovarian cancer and to help inform treatment options. Women who test positive using Myriad's gene test, called BRACAnalysis, have an 82 percent higher risk of developing breast cancer and a 44 percent higher risk of ovarian cancer in their lifetimes.
The patents give Myriad exclusive rights to perform tests on the two genes. The ACLU suit argues that the exclusivity allows Myriad to set the cost of such testing and makes it impossible for women to access tests that provide more comprehensive information about their genes or get a second opinion about their results.
It also claims that it prevents researchers from even looking at the genes without first getting permission from Myriad. (Reporting by Bill Berkrot and Jonathan Stempel; Editing by Richard Chang)
Ever wondered what exactly the Engineer sounds like when he's talking to Peter Weyland and David in "Prometheus"? Well, wonder no more, because a deleted clip from the movie shows exactly that. The clip in question (below the jump) could be considered spoilery for those who haven't seen the movie, so venture forth with caution. [...]
Philomena Johnson, a delegate from Little Village Academy, decorates her vehicle to highlight the need for increased social services in schools before attending a meeting of the Chicago Teachers Union delegates Sunday, Sept. 16, 2012 in Chicago. Hundreds of CTU delegates are expected to review a proposed contract and vote on whether to suspend the teachers strike which has kept more than 350,000 students out of school since Monday. (AP Photo/Sitthixay Ditthavong)
Philomena Johnson, a delegate from Little Village Academy, decorates her vehicle to highlight the need for increased social services in schools before attending a meeting of the Chicago Teachers Union delegates Sunday, Sept. 16, 2012 in Chicago. Hundreds of CTU delegates are expected to review a proposed contract and vote on whether to suspend the teachers strike which has kept more than 350,000 students out of school since Monday. (AP Photo/Sitthixay Ditthavong)
Chicago Teachers Union VIce President Jesse Sharkey, left, speaks to CTU lawyer Robert Bloch following a meeting of delegates Sunday, Sept. 16, 2012 in Chicago. The Chicago teachers union decided to continue its weeklong strike, extending an acrimonious standoff with Mayor Rahm Emanuel over teacher evaluations and join security provisions central to the debate over the future of public education across the United States. (AP Photo/Sitthixay Ditthavong)
Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis, left, listens to CTU Vice President Jesse Sharkey speak at a press conference following a meeting of delegates Sunday, Sept. 16, 2012 in Chicago. The Chicago teachers union decided Sunday to continue its weeklong strike, extending an acrimonious standoff with Mayor Rahm Emanuel over teacher evaluations and job security provisions central to the debate over the future of public education across the United States. (AP Photo/Sitthixay Ditthavong)
Chicago Teachers Union delegates arrive for a meeting Sunday, Sept. 16, 2012 in Chicago. Hundreds of CTU delegates are expected to review a proposed contract and vote on whether to suspend the teachers strike which has kept more than 350,000 students out of school since Monday. (AP Photo/Sitthixay Ditthavong)
Chicago Teachers Union lawyer Robert Bloch, left, talks to CTU delegates following a meeting Sunday, Sept. 16, 2012 in Chicago. The Chicago teachers union decided to continue its weeklong strike, extending an acrimonious standoff with Mayor Rahm Emanuel over teacher evaluations and join security provisions central to the debate over the future of public education across the United States. (AP Photo/Sitthixay Ditthavong)
CHICAGO (AP) ? Mayor Rahm Emanuel asked a state court Monday to force Chicago school teachers back to work and end a weeklong strike he calls illegal.
Emanuel spokeswoman Sarah Hamilton said city attorneys asked the Cook County Circuit Court to force Chicago Teachers Union members off the picket line and back into classrooms.
In a statement Sunday, Emanuel had called the strike illegal because it endangered students' health and safety, and concerned issues ? such as evaluations, layoffs and recall rights ? that state law says cannot be grounds for a work stoppage.
The union and school leaders had seemed headed toward a resolution at the end of last week, saying they were optimistic students in the nation's third-largest school district would be back in class by Monday. But teachers uncomfortable with a tentative contract offer decided Sunday to remain on strike, saying they needed more time to review a complicated proposal.
Emanuel fired back, saying he told city attorneys to seek a court order forcing Chicago Teachers Union members back into the classroom.
Teachers on the picket line at Mark T. Skinner West Elementary School on Chicago's near West Side declined to comment before the lawsuit was filed Monday as the possibility of legal action loomed over them.
The strike is the first for the city's teachers in 25 years and has kept 350,000 students out of class, leaving parents to make other plans.
Working mom Dequita Wade said that when the strike started, she sent her son 15 miles away to a cousin's house so he wouldn't be left unsupervised in a neighborhood known for violent crime and gangs. She was hoping the union and district would work things out quickly.
"You had a whole week. This is beginning to be ridiculous," Wade said. "Are they going to keep prolonging things?"
Months of contract negotiations have come down to two main issues central to the debate over the future of education across the United States: teacher evaluations and job security.
Union delegates said they felt uncomfortable approving the contract because they had seen it only in bits. The union will meet again Tuesday, after the end of Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year.
"There's no trust for our members of the board," Chicago Teachers Union president Karen Lewis told reporters Sunday night. "They're not happy with the agreement. They'd like it to actually be a lot better."
Emanuel showed his frustration at the striking public school teachers in a written statement Sunday night.
"This was a strike of choice and is now a delay of choice that is wrong for our children," Emanuel said.
The strike has shined a spotlight on Emanuel's leadership more than ever, and some experts have suggested the new contract ? which features annual pay raises and other benefits ? is a win for union.
"I'm hard-pressed to imagine how they could have done much better," said Robert Bruno, a professor of labor and employment relations at the University of Illinois at Chicago. "This is a very impressive outcome for the teachers."
With an average salary of $76,000, Chicago teachers are among the highest-paid in the nation, and the contract outline calls for annual raises. But some teachers are upset it did not restore a 4 percent raise Emanuel rescinded last year.
Emanuel pushed for a contract that includes ratcheting up the percentage of evaluations based on student performance, to 35 percent within four years. The union contends that does not take into account outside factors that affect student performance such as poverty and violence.
The union pushed for a policy to give laid-off teachers first dibs on open jobs anywhere in the district, but the city said that would keep principals from hiring the teachers they think are most qualified.
The union has engaged in something of a publicity campaign, telling parents about problems that include a lack of important books and basic supplies.
Some parents said they remain sympathetic to teachers.
"I don't think they're wrong. The things they're asking for are within reason," said Pamela Edwards, who has sent her 16-year-old daughter to one of about 140 schools the district has kept open during the strike to provide meals and supervision.
Others said they understand why teachers are taking their time.
"As much as we want our kids back in school, teachers need to make sure they have dotted all their i's and crossed their t's," said Becky Malone, mother of a second grader and fourth grader, who've been studying at home and going to museums over the last week. "What's the point of going on strike if you don't get everything you need out of it? For parents, it'll be no more of a challenge than it's been in the past week."
___
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Society of Interventional Radiology hails affirmation of specialty's role in patient carePublic release date: 12-Sep-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Ellen Acconcia eacconcia@sirweb.org 703-460-5582 Society of Interventional Radiology
Interventional Radiology now a primary specialty in medicine; ABMS recognizes unique IR skill set with the new Dual Primary Certificate in Interventional Radiology and Diagnostic Radiology
FAIRFAX, Va.The Society of Interventional Radiology hailed the Sept. 11 decision by the American Board of Medical Specialtiesthe organization that has oversight of the 24 recognized medical specialty boardsto approve the American Board of Radiology's application for a new Dual Primary Certificate in Interventional Radiology and Diagnostic Radiology. With this approval, ABMS and its member boards confirmed the benefit to patients of the unique interventional radiology skill set comprised of competency in diagnostic imaging, image-guided procedures and periprocedural patient care.
"Support for the Dual Certificate in Interventional Radiology and Diagnostic Radiology by ABMS is a seminal event in the history of interventional radiologyand one that will benefit future patients by providing well-trained minimally invasive image-guided specialists," said SIR President Marshall E. Hicks, M.D., FSIR, who represents the national society of nearly 5,000 doctors, scientists and allied health professionals dedicated to improving health care through minimally invasive treatments. "The Society of Interventional Radiology applauds ABR for its dedication and hard work in advancing the specialty and the interventional radiology skill set, a unique combination of interpretive and procedural skill, accompanied by corresponding clinical expertise," said Hicks, the head of the division of diagnostic imaging at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
"This is an important step in the formalization of the interventionalist's clinical role. Recognition of the interventional radiologist's imaging, technical and periprocedural patient care competencies speaks directly to the specialty's focus on patients, innovation and advanced image-guided techniques," said John A. Kaufman, M.D., FSIR, a past president of SIR and director of the Dotter Interventional Institute in Portland, Ore. "First and foremost, future patients will benefit from this," said Kaufman, who chaired the SIR/ABR task force that has been developing the certificate since 2005.
The new Dual Certificate in Interventional Radiology and Diagnostic Radiology will be the fourth primary certificate for ABR and the 37th overall in the United States. A primary certificate is different from a subspecialty certificate as it designates a unique and distinct area of medicine, rather than an area of focus within an existing specialty.
"Since the early 20th century, board certificationa form of professional self-regulationhas assured the public of the qualifications of medical professionals," said Gary J. Becker, M.D., FSIR, ABR executive director. "Only rarely does the house of medicine acknowledge the importance of a new primary specialty certificate in fulfilling these responsibilities. ABR supported the creation of this primary certificate based on the need to ensure that future trainees acquire the requisite combination of clinical, procedural and interpretive skills necessary for the safe and competent practice of interventional radiology. The interventional radiology and diagnostic radiology certificate ensures that board-certified interventional radiologists are trained and qualified to deliver the highest level of care available today, and it demands that this same quality be made available to all future patients," he added.
"ABR is pleased to offer this new certification and notes its importance to patients, the public and the profession. The addition of the interventional radiology/diagnostic radiology certificate to the other primary certificates offered by ABRDiagnostic Radiology, Radiation Oncology and Medical Physicsrounds out a full range of ABR primary certification services in diagnostic, therapeutic and image-guided procedures, as well as periprocedural clinical care," said ABR President James P. Borgstede, M.D. "I would like to acknowledge the vision, leadership and commitment to quality patient care of ABR past presidents N. Reed Dunnick, M.D., and Bruce G. Haffty, M.D., who helped to guide the application and approval process. Finally, ABR notes that a very positive and productive collaboration with SIR on this important endeavor made the new certificate possible," he added.
"The interventional radiology and diagnostic radiology certificate will help ensure that all patients in the country continue to receive high-quality, consistent, diagnostic, procedural and clinical interventional care," said Jeanne M. LaBerge, M.D., FSIR, an ABR trustee and interventional radiologist at the University of California, San Francisco. "The recent approval of the interventional radiology and diagnostic radiology certificate formalizes this belief and gives 'specialty' status to the field of interventional radiology while maintaining its intimate and necessary relation to diagnostic radiology," said Matthew A. Mauro, M.D., FSIR, an SIR past president and ABR trustee. "The elevation of interventional radiology to a 'specialty' level with its own distinct residency program places interventional radiology/diagnostic radiology on the same level as surgery, pediatrics and internal medicine in the ABMS hierarchy. This ABMS vote is much more than a superficial clerical actionit is one that initiates a formalized enhanced training program that will benefit patients across the country and serve as a model throughout the world," added Mauro, professor and chair, department of radiology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
"Securing the interventional radiology and diagnostic radiology certificate took tremendous effort by many individuals and support from many societies," said Kaufman. Organizations that support the certificate besides ABR include the American College of Radiology, American Osteopathic College of Radiology, American Roentgen Ray Society, Association of Program Directors in Radiology, Association of Program Directors in Interventional Radiology, American Association for Women Radiologists, American Society of Neuroradiology, Association of University Radiologists, Coalition for Imaging and Bioengineering Research, Radiological Society of North America, Radiology Residency Review Committee of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, Society for Pediatric Radiology, Society of Chairs of Academic Radiology Departments, Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery and Society of Vascular Medicine.
###
More information about the Society of Interventional Radiology, interventional radiologists and how to find an interventional radiologist in your area can be found online at www.SIRweb.org.
About the Society of Interventional Radiology
Interventional radiologists are physicians who specialize in minimally invasive, targeted treatments. They offer the most in-depth knowledge of the least invasive treatments available coupled with diagnostic and clinical experience across all specialties. They use X-ray, MRI and other imaging to advance a catheter in the body, such as in an artery, to treat at the source of the disease internally. As the inventors of angioplasty and the catheter-delivered stent, which were first used in the legs to treat peripheral arterial disease, interventional radiologists pioneered minimally invasive modern medicine. Today, interventional oncology is a growing specialty area of interventional radiology. Interventional radiologists can deliver treatments for cancer directly to the tumor without significant side effects or damage to nearby normal tissue.
Many conditions that once required surgery can be treated less invasively by interventional radiologists. Interventional radiology treatments offer less risk, less pain and less recovery time compared to open surgery. Visit www.SIRweb.org.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Society of Interventional Radiology hails affirmation of specialty's role in patient carePublic release date: 12-Sep-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Ellen Acconcia eacconcia@sirweb.org 703-460-5582 Society of Interventional Radiology
Interventional Radiology now a primary specialty in medicine; ABMS recognizes unique IR skill set with the new Dual Primary Certificate in Interventional Radiology and Diagnostic Radiology
FAIRFAX, Va.The Society of Interventional Radiology hailed the Sept. 11 decision by the American Board of Medical Specialtiesthe organization that has oversight of the 24 recognized medical specialty boardsto approve the American Board of Radiology's application for a new Dual Primary Certificate in Interventional Radiology and Diagnostic Radiology. With this approval, ABMS and its member boards confirmed the benefit to patients of the unique interventional radiology skill set comprised of competency in diagnostic imaging, image-guided procedures and periprocedural patient care.
"Support for the Dual Certificate in Interventional Radiology and Diagnostic Radiology by ABMS is a seminal event in the history of interventional radiologyand one that will benefit future patients by providing well-trained minimally invasive image-guided specialists," said SIR President Marshall E. Hicks, M.D., FSIR, who represents the national society of nearly 5,000 doctors, scientists and allied health professionals dedicated to improving health care through minimally invasive treatments. "The Society of Interventional Radiology applauds ABR for its dedication and hard work in advancing the specialty and the interventional radiology skill set, a unique combination of interpretive and procedural skill, accompanied by corresponding clinical expertise," said Hicks, the head of the division of diagnostic imaging at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
"This is an important step in the formalization of the interventionalist's clinical role. Recognition of the interventional radiologist's imaging, technical and periprocedural patient care competencies speaks directly to the specialty's focus on patients, innovation and advanced image-guided techniques," said John A. Kaufman, M.D., FSIR, a past president of SIR and director of the Dotter Interventional Institute in Portland, Ore. "First and foremost, future patients will benefit from this," said Kaufman, who chaired the SIR/ABR task force that has been developing the certificate since 2005.
The new Dual Certificate in Interventional Radiology and Diagnostic Radiology will be the fourth primary certificate for ABR and the 37th overall in the United States. A primary certificate is different from a subspecialty certificate as it designates a unique and distinct area of medicine, rather than an area of focus within an existing specialty.
"Since the early 20th century, board certificationa form of professional self-regulationhas assured the public of the qualifications of medical professionals," said Gary J. Becker, M.D., FSIR, ABR executive director. "Only rarely does the house of medicine acknowledge the importance of a new primary specialty certificate in fulfilling these responsibilities. ABR supported the creation of this primary certificate based on the need to ensure that future trainees acquire the requisite combination of clinical, procedural and interpretive skills necessary for the safe and competent practice of interventional radiology. The interventional radiology and diagnostic radiology certificate ensures that board-certified interventional radiologists are trained and qualified to deliver the highest level of care available today, and it demands that this same quality be made available to all future patients," he added.
"ABR is pleased to offer this new certification and notes its importance to patients, the public and the profession. The addition of the interventional radiology/diagnostic radiology certificate to the other primary certificates offered by ABRDiagnostic Radiology, Radiation Oncology and Medical Physicsrounds out a full range of ABR primary certification services in diagnostic, therapeutic and image-guided procedures, as well as periprocedural clinical care," said ABR President James P. Borgstede, M.D. "I would like to acknowledge the vision, leadership and commitment to quality patient care of ABR past presidents N. Reed Dunnick, M.D., and Bruce G. Haffty, M.D., who helped to guide the application and approval process. Finally, ABR notes that a very positive and productive collaboration with SIR on this important endeavor made the new certificate possible," he added.
"The interventional radiology and diagnostic radiology certificate will help ensure that all patients in the country continue to receive high-quality, consistent, diagnostic, procedural and clinical interventional care," said Jeanne M. LaBerge, M.D., FSIR, an ABR trustee and interventional radiologist at the University of California, San Francisco. "The recent approval of the interventional radiology and diagnostic radiology certificate formalizes this belief and gives 'specialty' status to the field of interventional radiology while maintaining its intimate and necessary relation to diagnostic radiology," said Matthew A. Mauro, M.D., FSIR, an SIR past president and ABR trustee. "The elevation of interventional radiology to a 'specialty' level with its own distinct residency program places interventional radiology/diagnostic radiology on the same level as surgery, pediatrics and internal medicine in the ABMS hierarchy. This ABMS vote is much more than a superficial clerical actionit is one that initiates a formalized enhanced training program that will benefit patients across the country and serve as a model throughout the world," added Mauro, professor and chair, department of radiology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
"Securing the interventional radiology and diagnostic radiology certificate took tremendous effort by many individuals and support from many societies," said Kaufman. Organizations that support the certificate besides ABR include the American College of Radiology, American Osteopathic College of Radiology, American Roentgen Ray Society, Association of Program Directors in Radiology, Association of Program Directors in Interventional Radiology, American Association for Women Radiologists, American Society of Neuroradiology, Association of University Radiologists, Coalition for Imaging and Bioengineering Research, Radiological Society of North America, Radiology Residency Review Committee of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, Society for Pediatric Radiology, Society of Chairs of Academic Radiology Departments, Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery and Society of Vascular Medicine.
###
More information about the Society of Interventional Radiology, interventional radiologists and how to find an interventional radiologist in your area can be found online at www.SIRweb.org.
About the Society of Interventional Radiology
Interventional radiologists are physicians who specialize in minimally invasive, targeted treatments. They offer the most in-depth knowledge of the least invasive treatments available coupled with diagnostic and clinical experience across all specialties. They use X-ray, MRI and other imaging to advance a catheter in the body, such as in an artery, to treat at the source of the disease internally. As the inventors of angioplasty and the catheter-delivered stent, which were first used in the legs to treat peripheral arterial disease, interventional radiologists pioneered minimally invasive modern medicine. Today, interventional oncology is a growing specialty area of interventional radiology. Interventional radiologists can deliver treatments for cancer directly to the tumor without significant side effects or damage to nearby normal tissue.
Many conditions that once required surgery can be treated less invasively by interventional radiologists. Interventional radiology treatments offer less risk, less pain and less recovery time compared to open surgery. Visit www.SIRweb.org.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
ScienceDaily (Sep. 11, 2012) ? NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter data have given scientists the clearest evidence yet of carbon-dioxide snowfalls on Mars. This reveals the only known example of carbon-dioxide snow falling anywhere in our solar system.
Frozen carbon dioxide, better known as "dry ice," requires temperatures of about minus 193 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 125 Celsius), which is much colder than needed for freezing water. Carbon-dioxide snow reminds scientists that although some parts of Mars may look quite Earth-like, the Red Planet is very different. The report is being published in the Journal of Geophysical Research.
"These are the first definitive detections of carbon-dioxide snow clouds," said the report's lead author, Paul Hayne of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "We firmly establish the clouds are composed of carbon dioxide -- flakes of Martian air -- and they are thick enough to result in snowfall accumulation at the surface."
The snowfalls occurred from clouds around the Red Planet's south pole in winter. The presence of carbon-dioxide ice in Mars' seasonal and residual southern polar caps has been known for decades. Also, NASA's Phoenix Lander mission in 2008 observed falling water-ice snow on northern Mars.
Hayne and six co-authors analyzed data gained by looking at clouds straight overhead and sideways with the Mars Climate Sounder, one of six instruments on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. This instrument records brightness in nine wavebands of visible and infrared light as a way to examine particles and gases in the Martian atmosphere. The analysis was conducted while Hayne was a post-doctoral fellow at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.
The data provide information about temperatures, particle sizes and their concentrations. The new analysis is based on data from observations in the south polar region during southern Mars winter in 2006-2007, identifying a tall carbon-dioxide cloud about 300 miles (500 kilometers) in diameter persisting over the pole and smaller, shorter-lived, lower-altitude carbon dioxide ice clouds at latitudes from 70 to 80 degrees south.
"One line of evidence for snow is that the carbon-dioxide ice particles in the clouds are large enough to fall to the ground during the lifespan of the clouds," co-author David Kass of JPL said. "Another comes from observations when the instrument is pointed toward the horizon, instead of down at the surface. The infrared spectra signature of the clouds viewed from this angle is clearly carbon-dioxide ice particles and they extend to the surface. By observing this way, the Mars Climate Sounder is able to distinguish the particles in the atmosphere from the dry ice on the surface."
Mars' south polar residual ice cap is the only place on the Red Planet where frozen carbon dioxide persists on the surface year-round. Just how the carbon dioxide from Mars' atmosphere gets deposited has been in question. It is unclear whether it occurs as snow or by freezing out at ground level as frost. These results show snowfall is especially vigorous on top of the residual cap.
"The finding of snowfall could mean that the type of deposition -- snow or frost -- is somehow linked to the year-to-year preservation of the residual cap," Hayne said.
JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, provided the Mars Climate Sounder instrument and manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
For more information about the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mro and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mro .
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
Paul O. Hayne, David A. Paige, John T. Schofield, David M. Kass, Armin Kleinb?hl, Nicholas G. Heavens, Daniel J. McCleese. Carbon dioxide snow clouds on Mars: South polar winter observations by the Mars Climate Sounder. Journal of Geophysical Research, 2012; 117 (E8) DOI: 10.1029/2011JE004040
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Vice President Joe Biden's talks to customers during a stop at Cruisers Diner, Sunday, Sept. 9, 2012, in Seaman, Ohio. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Vice President Joe Biden's talks to customers during a stop at Cruisers Diner, Sunday, Sept. 9, 2012, in Seaman, Ohio. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Vice President Joe Biden visits with patrons over lunch at Cruisers Diner, Sunday, Sept. 9, 2012, in Seaman, Ohio. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
SEAMAN, Ohio (AP) ? Vice President Joe Biden was looking to cozy up with voters as he toured Ohio this weekend, but he did not imagine that an Ohio woman would nearly end up in his lap.
Biden was chatting up customers in the Cruisers Diner in southern Ohio Sunday when he met a group of motorcycle riders in black leather vests and bandanas.
A female group member was watching, and Biden waved her over, telling her, "I know who runs the show."
The woman had no place to sit, so Biden pulled a chair in front of himself and pulled her nearly into his lap. He put his hands on her shoulders and leaned in for a conversation as photographers snapped away.
Biden was on his way to a speech in nearby Milford.