Gene regulatory networks are the most complex, extensive control systems found in nature. The interaction between biology and evolution has been the subject of great interest in recent years. The author, Eric Davidson, has been instrumental in elucidating this relationship. He is a world renowned scientist and a major contributor to the field of developmental biology. <br> <br> The Regulatory Genome beautifully explains the control of animal development in terms of structure/function relations of inherited regulatory DNA sequence, and the emergent properties of the gene regulatory networks composed of these sequences. New insights into the mechanisms of body plan evolution are derived from considerations of the consequences of change in developmental gene regulatory networks. The book includes 42 full-color descriptive figures and diagrams. Throughout it is oriented around major concepts, with examples of crucial evidence underlying each point. It is clearly written with the object of explaining regulatory causality without requiring of the reader a sophisticated background in descriptive developmental biology. This unique text supersedes anything currently available in the market.<p></p>"Prof. Davidson achieves a remarkable synthesis of key concepts in genomics, embryology, and evolutionary biology. He makes a persuasive case for the importance of regulatory networks in revealing the logic of complex developmental processes. The book is at the cusp of traditional disciplines in the biological sciences and the emerging field of computational biology. We finally have a book that reduces complex phenomena to basic principles, and then describes how these principles can explain among the most remarkable phenomena in nature: animal development and evolution."<br> - Mike Levine, University of California, Berkeley, U.S.A.<br> <br> "Eric Davidson is one of the real pioneers in deciphering the mysteries of development...This is a milestone work that needs to be read by every biologist interested in development, evolution and a systems view of life — for it provides deep insights into each of these areas."<br> — Lee Hood, Institute for Systems Biology,<br> Seattle, WA, U.S.A.<br> <br> "Davidson's book is tightly written with an impressive coverage of the field...I don't see how one can grasp the rapidly changing views of gene regulation and its evolution without a close study of Davidson's book."<br> — Douglas H. Erwin, National Museum of Natural History, Washington D.C., U.S.A.