Large-scale sequencing spawns a new research field

The simultaneous and complementary advances in DNA sequencing and computation enabled large-scale sequencing, even of whole genomes. During the 1990s, the first whole genomes were sequenced (bakers' yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a number of bacteria, and the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans).

The alliance of biology with computation also gave rise to the new field "bioinformatics", which looked for improved ways to handle and study large amounts of sequence data. In 1988, one of the most important computational tools for biologists was founded: The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI).