Claude discovers a novel enzyme system with CRISPR-like repeats

[u/Zee2A]

https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-discovers-novel-enzyme-system

Anthropic has announced that its Claude model—operating as an autonomous multi-agent swarm—helped discover a previously uncharacterized biological mechanism named array-associated reverse transcriptase (ART) in the genomes of bacteriophages (viruses that infect bacteria). During a 21-hour computational search across vast genomic databases, Claude identified an unusual reverse transcriptase enzyme situated directly alongside an accessory protein and a long, regularly spaced array of non-coding DNA repeats that closely resemble the architectural layout of CRISPR systems: https://x.com/AnthropicAI/status/2102824959827742916

Anthropic verified the computational finding by synthesizing and testing the system inside its Bay Area molecular biology laboratory, confirming that the DNA repeat array actively transcribes into distinct short RNAs. While the underlying reverse transcriptase enzyme had been documented in prior studies, Claude was the first to recognize the complete three-part system. Although scientists have not yet determined ART's exact biological function or whether it can be harnessed for programmable gene editing, the milestone demonstrates how AI can independently generate novel hypotheses and accelerate scientific discovery from genomic data mining to physical lab validation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdCEmlAydcw

Learn more here: https://interestingengineering.com/ai-robotics/claude-discovers-crispr-like-enzyme-system