Genome-related databases have already become an invaluable part of the scientific landscape. The role played by these databases will only increase as the volume and complexity of relevant biology data rapidly expand. We are far enough into the genome project and into the development of these databases to assess their attributes and to reexamine some of the conceptual organizations and approaches they are taking. It is clear that there are needs for both highly detailed and simplified database views, the latter being especially needed to make expert domain data more accessible to nonspecialists.