The EBI is a centre for research and services in bioinformatics. The Institute manages databases of biological data including nucleic acid, protein sequences and macromolecular structures. As we move towards understanding biology at the systems level, access to large data sets of many different types has become crucial. Technologies such as genome-sequencing, microarrays, proteomics and structural genomics have provided 'parts lists' for many living organisms, and researchers are now focusing on how the individual components fit together to build systems. The hope is that scientists will be able to translate their new insights into improving the quality of life for everyone. However, the high-throughput revolution also threatens to drown us in data. There is an ongoing, and growing, need to collect, store and curate all this information in ways that allow its efficient retrieval and exploitation. The European Bioinformatics Institute is one of the few places in the world that has the resources and expertise to fulfil this important task.