July 18, 1995

France's effort to get its allies to join in using military force to stop further Serbian attacks on Muslim enclaves in Bosnia is foundering on British reluctance to go to war there and American hesitancy in the face of European division, American and European officials said today. One French official described the round of diplomatic and military consultations held since President Jacques Chirac made his proposal for tougher action last week as "a failure" so far.

WHY do some people in their 80's look, act and feel vigorous and energetic while others need help just to get through the chores of daily living? A good part of the answer may lie in their hormones. If studies now under way bear out their initial promise, hormone treatments for people over 60 may help to turn back the clock and, though without extending life, greatly enhance its quality. Researchers are exploring the rejuvenating effects of several hormones that are known to undergo rather striking declines with age. These include, but go beyond, replacing estrogen, which declines sharply in women after menopause. The safety of estrogen replacement, particularly with regard to the risk of breast cancer, is hotly debated and raises a cautionary note about the wisdom of replacing other hormones that fall with age.

Kevin Falvey is the archetype of cool. He spent 15 years playing keyboards for Joe Cocker. His boots are still pointy-toed and black, and he looks like a man who would curl up and die if forced to wear a tie. But his latest gig has a new twist: he gets to know Pentagon secrets. At Sonalysts Studios, it's all in a day's work. Sonalysts (pronounced SAHN-ah-lists), a submarine technology company founded in the early 1970's to exploit the intricacies of zero-tolerance underwater acoustics, is trying to mix top secret with Top 40.

Big Deal in Diapers and Paper Kimberly-Clark, the maker of Huggies diapers and Kleenex tissues, has agreed to buy Scott Paper for $7 billion, creating a strong challenger to Procter & Gamble. Page D1. Sunken Wartime Gold Found Using advanced gear, a maritime researcher has found a sunken Japanese submarine carrying two tons of gold. Science Times, page C1. Racing Champion Dies Juan Manuel Fangio, who was the first great race driver of the postwar era -- a five-time world champion in Formula One -- died yesterday in Buenos Aires. He was 84.

Warnings of unsafe dioxin levels in blue crabs caught in Newark Bay have not stopped people from catching them, eating them and selling them, a scientist said yesterday at a meeting sponsored by the Coast Alliance, an environmental group. Angela Cristini, a biology professor at Ramapo College, said she recently saw hundreds of people in a Bayonne waterfront park crabbing, The Associated Press reported. For years, officials have issued warnings about blue crabs, which feed on animals that absorb dioxin from contaminated sediment. TERRY PRISTIN