Claude, developed by Anthropic, identified a previously unknown enzyme system in bacteriophage DNA, finding structural features that earlier studies appear to have overlooked.
Key Points:
- About 950 Claude agents searched a large DNA database and identified 3,500 candidate systems before narrowing the list to 20.
- The newly identified ART system combines a reverse transcriptase, an unexplained partner protein and an array of repeating DNA.
- Researchers have not established ART's biological function or shown that it can become a gene-editing tool.
Claude Enzyme Discovery
Anthropic published the finding on Sep. 23 after launching roughly 950 Claude agents with one prompt asking them to search a large DNA database for new reverse transcriptases. Over 21 hours, the agents used 210 million tokens, collected more than 200,000 reverse transcriptases and identified 3,500 candidate systems.
They eventually selected 20 candidates for human review. Anthropic said comparable analysis can take an expert scientist weeks or months.
One candidate stood out because a reverse transcriptase gene sat beside an unknown partner protein and a long array of evenly spaced DNA repeats resembling a CRISPR array. Anthropic named the three-part system array-associated reverse transcriptases, or ART, while lab researchers found that its repeat array produces distinct short RNAs. Also Read: Ethereum Nears $3K Setup With $30B In Open Interest Behind It
Anthropic Biology Outlook
The resemblance to CRISPR has drawn interest, but researchers have cautioned against assuming ART will become a comparable technology. Feng Zhang, a CRISPR pioneer at MIT and the Broad Institute, reviewed the non-peer-reviewed preprint and described the RNA-repeat arrays as intriguing and worthy of further study.
Kevin Blake, a microbiologist at Washington University School of Medicine, was more skeptical, noting that naturally occurring CRISPR systems differ sharply from the technologies scientists later developed from them. Anthropic also says it has not demonstrated that ART can cut, copy or paste DNA, and experiments are continuing to determine its actual function.
Dario Amodei, Anthropic's CEO, has said the company suspects ART could represent a new gene-editing mechanism, while stressing that its usefulness and significance remain unknown. He has previously argued that rapid AI progress could accelerate biological discovery and has written that AI might help cure most diseases within five to 10 years, making ART the latest test of that broader claim.
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