Claude, the artificial intelligence model from Anthropic, identified a previously unknown biological system in the DNAof bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacteria. The finding shows similarities to CRISPR, a technology used to modify specific parts of genetic material.
The discovery arose from a project at Anthropic's life sciences laboratory. Although initial experiments confirmed some characteristics of the system, its function is still unknown, as is whether it can be used to edit genes.
Claude identified a previously unknown biological system in the DNA of bacteriophages
How Claude identified the new genetic system
The research focused on reverse transcriptases, enzymes capable of converting RNA information into DNA. Anthropic used about 950 agents from Claude over 21 hours to analyze more than 200,000 genetic sequences.
The model selected around 3,500 possible new systems and narrowed the search down to 20 candidates. Among them, it detected a combination of repeated sequences that showed similarities to CRISPR.
Anthropic named the system reverse transcriptases associated with repetitive arrays (ART). Although the main enzyme was already known, the novelty was identifying its possible relationship with repeated sequences and another protein of unknown function.
How Claude identified the new genetic system
What is known about the ART system and its potential use for editing DNA
The initial experiments detected that ART produces small RNA sequences, a characteristic also present in other systems that act on DNA. However, researchers still do not know its function within the bacteriophages.
The next step will be to verify if ART can cut, copy, or insert genetic material. For now, Anthropic has not demonstrated that the system has those capabilities or that it can become a genetic editing tool.
What is known about the ART system and its potential use for editing DNA
Feng Zhang, a researcher at MIT and the Broad Institute and one of the pioneers of genetic editing with CRISPR, described the finding as "really intriguing" and considered it worthy of deeper investigation.
What role artificial intelligence played in the discovery
Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, stated that Claude did most of the work, although not all of it. The model reviewed scientific studies, analyzed genomic data, identified possible patterns, and proposed experiments that were then carried out by the researchers.
Amodei asserted that artificial intelligence could accelerate biological research, although he emphasized that discoveries must be validated in the laboratory. He also suggested that, in the future, Claude could autonomously control research teams, something that does not currently happen.
What role did artificial intelligence play in the discovery
Anthropic indicated that its facilities operate with biosecurity levels BSL-1 and BSL-2. The discovery of ART is a first step towards the possibility of using artificial intelligence to find new biological systems, but it still requires more testing.
