Covers the entire field of genetics with an "absence of laboratory jargon." Entries include the "The latest progress in current hot topics such as stem cells, gene therapy, small RNAs, transcription factories, chromosomal territories, networks, genetic networks, ENCODE project, epigenetics, histone and protein biology, prions, hereditary diseases, and even patents are covered. The number of illustrations increased to nearly 2,000 and several hundreds are in four-color. The old entries have been revised, updated and expanded. Cross-references among entries have been increased. Retractions and corrigenda are pointed out. Nearly 1,800 database and web server addresses, about 14,000 journal paper references and more than 3,000 current book titles are included. Interesting historical vignettes lend some insight into the lighter sides of biology."