by Scott Ott
(2005-01-18) -- Harvard University President Lawrence Summers today sent a dozen roses to MIT biology professor Nancy Hopkins after she nearly fainted last week during Mr. Summers' remarks about potential biological differences between the sexes which might explain why fewer women succeed in science and math careers.
Ms. Hopkins told The New York Times, "When he started talking about innate differences in aptitude between men and women, I just couldn't breathe."
If she hadn't walked out of the conference, she said she "would have either blacked out or thrown up."
Mr. Summers expressed regret today that the female scientist was "hurt by my brutal suggestion that further research was needed to find reasons for the observable phenomenon of male dominance in science and math. I hope the dear lady can forgive me for bringing up such coarse subjects in mixed company. In the future, I shall show more sensitivity in the presence of the fairer sex."
Meanwhile, a spokesman from the National Organization for Women (NOW) decried the institutionalized bias against women in academia.
"The laboratory is like a football locker room at most Ivy League schools," said the unnamed NOW source. "The guy scientists think nothing of mocking each other by saying 'You research like a girl' or 'Careful with that mass spectrometer, you might break a fingernail.'"
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