Possible causes of confusion and mistakes in technical terminology in bilingual settings
Actually, I think one of the biggest issues that we have to deal with as scientists is the use of writing conventions. For instance:


The "decimal point" in Europe is normally written as a comma. So a German would see that "a mile is 1,760 yards" might not know if a mile should be 5280 feet or 5.28 feet! (This can cause confusion when translating back and forth.)
Similarly, I have to be very careful with my handwriting, lest my audience think my "7" is a "1." 


A lot of what you're talking about, though, I think falls either under the header of "false cognates" (or faux amis, as they're known in French), or of words with multiple definitions. As examples of the latter, for instance, Benzin in German can mean both "benzene" as well as "gasoline," while Neigung can mean both "slope" and "gradient."