[wereworm73]

I was wondering...since Gd-157, Xe-135 & Cd-113 have high neutron capture cross-sections, wouldn't they also capture whole nuclei--and fuse--more readily than other atoms ?  If this is the case, then maybe we could get better yields of the superheavy elements... 

[gippgig]

Thermal neutron capture is a low energy process that is very different from high energy heavy ion reactions (that have to overcome the coulomb repulsion of the positively charged projectile & target nucleus). There is no reason for the cross-sections to be related. In fact, even thermal neutron capture & fast neutron capture cross-sections are different.