"Genes VII", the 7th of the "Genes" texts, gives an integrated account of the structure and function of genes, providing a synthesis and continuing the greater emphasis on how genes function in their biological context. In a change to all previous editions, which started with a traditional analysis of formal genetics, this 7th edition has been organized to present the subject in the context of the eukaryotic gene as revealed in the 1990s, an analysis based directly on the molecular properties of the gene itself.