Anthropic says Claude helped identify CRISPR-like system

Anthropic says its Claude AI system helped identify a previously undescribed biological system in bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacteria. The system, which the company calls array-associated reverse transcriptases, or ART, includes repeating DNA sequences that resemble features of CRISPR. Its biological function has not been established, and the research is described in a preprint that has not been peer reviewed. Anthropic says Claude searched genomic data for unusual reverse transcriptases, enzymes that copy RNA into DNA. The identified ART system combines a reverse transcriptase with a nearby partner gene and an array of regularly spaced DNA repeats. The enzyme itself had been reported previously; the claimed discovery is the broader arrangement, including the repeat array and partner gene. The company reports that about 950 Claude agents worked for roughly 21 hours, examining more than 200,000 reverse transcriptases and identifying thousands of candidate systems before narrowing the results to about 20 for closer review. Anthropic says the agents identified the repeat pattern while examining DNA next to an unusual enzyme.