Proposing that genes and genomes are discrete biological entities with genomes controlling evolutionary selection, this much-needed survey maps the contours of a new area of genome research that resolves troubling paradoxes and is key to our decoding efforts.

Current genomic research primarily focuses on the decoding of genes and other DNA sequences. For many, the genome simply represents a bag of genes, whereas genes are the functional parts of the system. Therefore understanding the genes will lead to medically applicable results. To point out a new direction in genomic research, this book will discuss that genes and genomes represent distinctive biological entities, and that the genome (rather than individual genes) is the evolutionary selection unit, as the function of a gene is determined by the context of the genome. Accordingly, current genomic research must move beyond sequencing in order to truly decode the genome. To support such a key statement, a series of paradoxes will be addressed leading to the introduction of genome theory. Dr. Heng has been working on a new genome theory for the past 10 years. With this new way of thinking, his group has solved a number of key questions both in cancer biology and evolutionary biology. The recently introduced genome theory of somatic cell- and organismal- evolution has received an increasing amount of attention. With Dr. Heng's first-hand experience, this book will walk readers through the journey of change, from the selfish gene concept to genome chaos, leading the reader to appreciate the ignored genome variation and its important implications to evolution and medicine. This book will outline the new genome based genomic research.