November 17, 1992

PLANTS, unlike animals, have no nerves, so scientists have been jolted by the discovery this month that the tomato plant uses an electric signal to alert its defense system against grazing caterpillars. A team of researchers from England and New Zealand reported in the Nov. 5 issue of Nature that when a leaf on a tomato seedling is chewed by insects it sends out electrical warning signals, alerting the rest of the plant to the danger. As undamaged leaves receive the signal, they begin producing defensive chemicals that make them difficult to digest.

New York City's competitiveness in biomedical research -- a segment of the health-care industry that provides thousands of highly paid, highly skilled jobs -- is eroding at a worrisome pace, according to a new study and government and private experts. New York is still a national leader in the field, with private nonprofit medical schools and hospitals like Mount Sinai, New York Hospital, Albert Einstein and Montefiore and those at Columbia, New York University and Rockefeller University.

In the last 12 months, three world- class Canadian figure skaters have died of AIDS. Another Canadian skater, Dennis Coi, a former junior world champion, died in 1987 of the same disease. John Curry of Britain, a former Olympic champion also suffering from AIDS, returned last month to his home in England to spend the remainder of his life. The sport has been rocked hard by the illness, in stoic silence, in an Olympic year usually reserved for gold medals and triumphant tours that showcase nothing more controversial than triple jumps. So now figure skating is left with the task of educating its anxious athletes and avoiding the publicity that might damage this theatrical, marketing-driven sport.

In a step toward major changes in health insurance, the New Jersey Assembly today approved a bill intended to help uninsured people buy private policies. The measure would require the state's 427 private insurers to enroll all applicants, regardless of their age, sex or health. If the companies fail to do this, they would be required to help subsidize the cost of policies provided by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Jersey, which is currently the only company required to accept all applicants, including those considered high-risk cases.

A new symbol has joined the cross, the crescent and the Star of David on America's houses of worship: a stick figure in a wheelchair. The emblem, signaling that the building is accessible to the handicapped, reflects a growing debate in churches, mosques and synagogues about how far a congregation should go to make the disabled feel at home.

Savings and loan regulators issued guidelines today governing the responsibilities of savings and loan officers despite the objections of enforcement officials who fear the new rules will make it harder to recover damages from negligent executives and directors. The guidelines of the Office of Thrift Supervision are meant to outline the fiduciary duties of savings and loan officials and were developed in response to industry concerns about the risk of being sued. T. Timothy Ryan Jr., the departing director of the agency, called it "a road map that will help directors and officers make the decisions necessary in carrying out their responsibilities."

Almost a year after he retired as chairman of Bloomingdale's, Marvin Traub is back in the retail business, this time as an owner. An investment fund he formed with his former right-hand man at Bloomie's, Lester Gribetz, has acquired Conran Stores Inc., which operates Conran's Habitat in the United States. The seller is Storehouse P.L.C., a British retail company that operates British Home Stores and Mothercare.

Continuing the transition to a new generation of leaders, Time Inc. yesterday named Henry Muller, managing editor of Time magazine, to the No. 2 editorial management position in the company. The announcement followed by five months the appointment of Don Logan as president and chief operating officer, the second-highest post on Time Inc.'s business side.

The only American company actively selling an advanced type of flat-panel computer display screen has abruptly reversed its position and asked the Commerce Department to cancel immediately the nation's punitive taxes on imports of the screens. The department imposed the tax 14 months ago after concluding that Japanese companies were selling the displays at unfairly low prices. The decision was made in response to a complaint by American manufacturers of active-matrix liquid-crystal displays, including OIS Optical Imaging Systems, the company that is now asking for the taxes to be dropped.

The Security Council voted tonight to impose a naval blockade against Yugoslavia, for the first time adding enforcement provisions to trade sanctions that were adopted against the Serbian-led Belgrade Government in May. The United States was among 13 nations voting in favor. The Council's other two members, China and Zimbabwe, abstained.

The nation's Roman Catholic bishops opened a meeting in Washington to take a stand on a long-awaited pastoral letter on women. Page A16.

Companies Northwest and KLM may function as one airline, the Transportation Department said. It would be the first time a foreign and a domestic airline can act as one carrier, even though legally they would remain separate companies. [ Page A1. ] G.M. recognized in 1983 that its pickups could be made less vulnerable to collisions that might break open their fuel tanks, company files say. But it waited years to change the designs. [ A1. ]