  We show that assuming fermion generations to be given by a gauge symmetry
plus a certain Higgs mechanism for its breaking, the known empirical features
of quark and lepton mixing can be largely explained, including in particular
the fact that the mixing (CKM) matrix element $U_{\mu3}$ responsible for the
muon anomaly in atmospheric neutrinos is near maximal and much larger than
their quark counterparts $V_{cb}$ and $ V_{ts}$, while the corner elements for
both quarks ($V_{ub}, V_{td}$) and leptons ($U_{e3}$) are all very small. The
mechanism also gives automatically a hierarchical fermion mass spectrum which
is intimately related to the mixing pattern.

High Energy Physics - Phenomenology