Science still inhospitable to U.S. women.(NEWSWATCH)

At a critical time when the United States is falling behind other countries in producing scientists and engineers, conscious and unconscious bias against women is contributing significantly to the shortfall.

* Female life scientists in higher ed obtain patents on their work 60% less frequently than their male counterparts, according to a new study published in Science magazine. It studied life scientists who'd earned PhD's between 1967 and 1995 and had at least five years of publishing experience since then.

Why the gap? The study suggests that women scientists are not as exposed to the commercial sector and that they might worry that pursuing commercial opportunities could restrict their university careers by being seen as a threat to their male colleagues.

From a random sample of 4,227 life scientists over 30 years, researchers found that 5.6% of women patented their work, while 13% of men did so. Patents are becoming increasingly important as they can produce royalties for schools, a small percentage of which goes to the faculty member.

It's not the quality or subject of their work. The study found "no evidence that women do less important work based on standard measures of scientific impact," including the average number of citations by others. Younger female life scientists are more likely than older ones to apply for patents.

* Women scientists are getting less work published than men in prestigious publications. While ...