December 27, 1988

LEAD: IN news that should hearten anyone whose New Year will bring resolutions to break bad habits, researchers say lapses do not necessarily mean that the effort is doomed. Rather, they say, learning to overcome lapses is emerging as one of the most important parts of such efforts, whether they are trying to eat less or to give up smoking.

LEAD: Three aging nuclear reactors at the Savannah River Plant in South Carolina may never be able to produce enough of a crucial material for nuclear weapons even when the reactors are repaired, an Energy Department report for Congress says.

LEAD: Matthew Barnwell, the principal of Public School 53 in the Bronx for the last 16 years, had a history of drinking, absenteeism, lateness and serious lapses in professional performance, yet the city's mammoth educational system never acted to remove him.

LEAD: THE mice, light brown females of a common laboratory variety, look ordinary. But they carry a trait that sets them apart from all other mice on earth: they produce milk that contains a human blood substance valuable in treating heart attacks.

LEAD: Whether Congressmen and others in Government should get a raise next year, and how much of one, is a big issue in Washington right now. But to listen to people who are usually only too happy to say how much influence they wield, one would think none of them had anything to do with this decision.