This book formulates a relativistic theory of biology, challenging the common gene-centred view of organisms.

Denis Noble, CBE, FRS, is Emeritus Professor of Cardiovascular Physiology and Director of Computational Physiology at the University of Oxford. He is one of the founders of the field of systems biology and is the current President of the International Union of Physiological Sciences (IUPS).

Preface; Acknowledgments; 1. The universe and the principle of relativity; 2. Biological scales and levels; 3. Biological networks; 4. Nature and origin of cells; 5. Blind chance and natural selection; 6. Biological relativity; 7. Dancing nucleotides: natural genetic engineering; 8. Epigenetics and a relativistic theory of evolution; 9. The relativity of epistemology: the meaning of it all; 10. Postscript; Glossary; Index.