 One of the unexpected results of the HGP was that the human genome contained only about 23,000 protein-coding genes as defined based on the concept of an open reading frame (ORF), that is, a stretch of DNA that begins with a start and ends with stop codon that initiate and terminate translation. Other, apparently less complex organisms, had as many or even more genes (thus defined) in their genomes (G-value paradox). This fact again suggested the significance of splicing variants and other mechanisms increasing the number of proteins derived from a given genome, of regulatory elements in the genome, and of non-coding RNA (see entry on  genomics and postgenomics).  In 2003 the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) project was initiated, aiming at identifying all functional elements in the human genome including those transcribed to non-protein-coding RNA, and sites for protein binding or epigenetic modification (Brzović &amp; Šustar 2020). The results of the consortium’s work made the already known deviations from the classic model of the molecular, protein-coding gene appear as the rule rather than the exception. To a large extent ENCODE researchers found overlap of transcripts, products derived from widely separated pieces of DNA sequence and widely dispersed regulatory sequences for a given gene. The findings also confirm that most of the genome is transcribed and emphasize the importance and pervasiveness of functional non-coding RNA transcripts (Morange 2020: Ch. 25; O’Malley et al. 2010; Veigl 2021).