Dave L Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> No Sue, I did present it as fact. Hybrid vigour is
> an accepted scientific phenomenon:
>
> "HYBRID VIGOUR (or for the geneticists -
> HETEROSIS) is the term used to describe the burst
> of fertility, good health and growth that is seen
> in the progeny when two unrelated breeds are
> mated. The longer that these breeds have been
> separated, and the greater the differences between
> them, the stronger will be the resulting hybrid
> vigour.
>
> Hybrid vigour is not a theory, it is the name
> given to describe something that happens
> repeatably throughout all species in the animal
> and plant kingdom. When unrelated breeds of any
> animal species are mated the offspring in the
> first generation will be more healthy, fertile,
> and (in animals) mentally stable than either
> parent breed. This first F1 (Filial1) generation
> as the geneticists call it, will be intermediate
> in characterisics to the parent breeds and the
> offspring will resemble each other."

Yes, but there's no way to prove that hybrid vigor
was responsible for da Vinci's genius and versatility.
It -is- an interesting thought and possibility, and
very worthy of consideration.

Sue