Nowadays, the sequencing reaction takes place on a plastic slide called a flow cell. PCR is carried out on DNA placed on the slide and all the fragments are sequenced at the same time in parallel. A computer is used to analyse the results and billions of base pairs can be sequenced in less than 24 hours.Bioinformatics can be used to analyse biological data including DNA sequences. Computational biology uses computational techniques to build models from the data and make predictions. DNA sequences can be analysed and the 3D structure of proteins worked out. Genes linked to certain diseases can be identified as well as phylogenetic relationships between species. Computers can analyse and compare genomes of individuals and ascertain the risks of developing certain diseases.