Final answer:
Bioinformatics is a field that combines biology and computer science to analyze DNA sequences and investigate evolutionary relationships. Scientists distinguish between homologous and analogous traits when building phylogenetic trees, using homologous traits to support divergent evolution and analogous traits to support convergent evolution.
Step-by-step explanation:
Bioinformatics is a field that combines biology and computer science to analyze large amounts of biological data, such as DNA sequences. In the context of investigating evolutionary relationships, bioinformatics uses tools like BLAST (Basic Local Alignment Search Tool) to compare DNA sequences from different organisms and determine their relatedness. Scientists must distinguish between homologous and analogous characteristics before building phylogenetic trees because homologous traits are shared due to common ancestry, while analogous traits are not. Homologous traits are used to support divergent evolution, while analogous traits are used to support convergent evolution.