What was going on when I was born?

MOUSE embryos, grown in laboratory dishes for almost half of their normal gestation period, have revealed the existence of three substances which appear vital to normal embryonic development.

WASHINGTON, May 5 President Carter pledged today that the United States would "provide an open heart and open arms" for the "literally tens of thousands" of refugees flowing into Florida from Cuba.

DETROIT, May 5 Sales of American-made passenger cars by the Big Three auto makers plummeted 38.8 percent in the final 10 days of April. The poor showing meant that Detroit's car sales for April, normally the auto industry's best selling month, were down almost a third from April a year ago.

WASHINGTON THE findings of two new studies have shed light on who puts the heaviest burden on America's health care system, an important factor in establishing any economically feasible plan for national health insurance.

ROME, May 5 The order to the Rev. Robert F. Drinan to refrain from seeking a new term in Congress was issued at the request of Pope John Paul II, an authoritative Vatican source said today, and was directed specifically at the Massachusetts Representative.

LONDON, May 5 British commandos and policemen stormed the occupied Iranian Embassy here tonight and rescued 19 people who had been held hostage inside for five and a half days.

HOUSTON, May 5 In the midst of what is expected to be the worst housing slump since World War II, the U.S. Home Corporation, the nation's largest home builder, faces a multitude of challenges. With a major exposure in the stalled housing industry in 16 states, mostly in the Sun Belt, doubledigit mortgage rates and a credit squeeze, the company's financial future is on the line.

MORE than three years after passage of the landmark Toxic Substances Control Act, the Federal agency responsible for administering the law has yet to order testing of any of the 50,000 chemicals on the market.

MEXICO CITY, May 5 Mexico is actively encouraging foreign hotel chains to expand their presence here as part of its strategy to turn the country's tourist industry into a major source of foreign exchange and to generate new jobs over the next two decades.

THIS September, the idea of Britain's 11-year-old Open University will be tested throughout the United States for the first time. Seven colleges and universities and 11 television stations will inaugurate America's first coast-to-coast system of television-assisted college courses leading to a bachelor's degree.

The convicted murderer of an obstetrics nurse was sentenced yesterday to serve a minimum of 62 and a half years and a maximum of life in prison.

There is a computer at the Dalton School in New York that is used to acquaint children with some of the mysteries of the electronic age. And somebody seems to have learned to use the computer in ways that have stirred up law enforcement authorities in the United States and Canada.