MicroRNAs' function and role in evolution -- MicroRNAs and disease -- piRNAs: Transposon silencing and germ line development.-Long non-coding cRNAs -- Unveiling transposable elements function to enrich knowledge for human physiology and disease pathogenesis -- Copy number variation in human health, disease and evolution -- Mini- and micro-satellite markers in health, disease and evolution -- Intron biology, focusing on group II introns, the ancestors of spliceosomal introns.- Centromeres in health, disease and evolution.- Structure and functions of telomeres in organismal homeostasis and disease.- Proximal regulatory elements with emphasis on CpG rich regions.- Genomic analysis through high-throughput sequencing.

This book provides a thorough review of various non-coding genomic elements and discusses in depth their role in health, disease and evolution. It begins with an exploration of non-coding RNA molecules miRNAs, piRNAs, LncRNAs and transposable elements as these moieties dominate the scientific literature the last ten years. The second part of the book discusses copy number variation regions, mini and micro satellites, and proximal and distal elements of the genome.  The last section of the book focuses on the review of well-known non-coding regions of the genome, introns, centromeres and telomeres, but enriched with newly discovered functions.  As the vast amount of data in regards to these elements is attributed to a great degree to the growing technology in the field of biomedicine, the last chapter of the book discusses the latest development in the field of Next Generation Sequence and the potential applications of this technology in the study of non-coding regions of the genome. This new volume provides an in depth background on ‘junk DNA’ and helps set the stage for future research, and is an essential tool for those in the field.