The book deals with the existence, uniqueness, regularity, and asymptotic behavior of solutions to the initial value problem (Cauchy problem) and the initial-Dirichlet problem for a class of degenerate diffusions modeled on the porous medium type equation $u_t = \Delta u^m$, $m \geq 0$, $u \geq 0$. Such models arise in plasma physics, diffusion through porous media, thin liquid film dynamics, as well as in geometric flows such as the Ricci flow on surfaces and the Yamabe flow. The approach presented to these problems uses local regularity estimates and Harnack type inequalities, which yield compactness for families of solutions