Hello all! Thought I'd crack open my human genetics textbook and see if I could find something on the fair fur and deafness. Apparently there is a gene some mammals that causes deafness and the appearence of some physical characteristics - light eye-color (blue) and a white or fair forelock. The book includes three pictures - a dark grey mouse with a white blaze and blue eyes, a calico kitten with a white "mowhawk" and blue eyes, and a young woman with a patch of white in her bangs and blue eyes. Kinda neat to look at... I guess the gene hasn't been fully identified yet, but the physical and genetic characteristics are somewhat linked... The pictures are in Ricki Lewis' _Human Genetics: Concepts and Applications_.printed by Wm. C. Brown Publishers, 1994. Never know when you could use this interesting tidbit on your next appearence on Jeopardy or something... :) -Kristen and the kids - Roo, Nesta, and the two new comers, Cassidy and Monkey ("Is there a voting age requirement for the ferret union?") ============================ Kristen Herzog [log in to unmask] These are my opinions. Promise. ==================================== [Posted in FML issue 1150]