Call it the dilemma of plenty. Since the advent of analysis tools like x-ray crystallography, nuclear magnetic resonance, and automated DNA sequencing, the amount of sequence and structure data has exploded. The number of gene sequences biologists have cataloged has leapt from about a dozen to between 50,000 and 60,000. The number of unique protein structures they've unraveled has climbed to between 500 and 600. This should be good news.
Sequence refers to the string of DNA that specifies the order of amino acids defining a protein.
Structure is the complex 3D shape that this linear string folds into in response to interactions along the string of amino acids. This structure is what ultimately defines the protein's function in the human body. The same holds true for antibodies, which latch only onto specific antigens. By comparing a map of one protein with sequences of proteins whose structure and function are known, scientists can begin to gauge functional relationship and hence approach the problem of solving molecular diseases. Biology is a scientific cottage industry with data being generated in thousands of independent labs around the world, each applying its own format and syntax.