Claude discovers a novel enzyme system with CRISPR-like repeats

Anthropic, a life sciences research group, has introduced a novel enzyme system discovered by their AI model, Claude. The team, consisting of scientists and engineers, aims to accelerate biological research by utilizing Claude's capabilities. Claude autonomously identified an enzyme system with an array of DNA repeats, similar to the CRISPR system.

Although the function of this newly discovered system remains unknown, it shares characteristics with previously identified programmable systems, including cutting, copying, and pasting DNA. The system is based on a reverse transcriptase enzyme, which copies RNA into DNA, and was discovered in a bacteriophage, a virus that infects bacteria.

A leading expert in CRISPR genome editing, Feng Zhang, praised the discovery as an exciting example of AI contributing to biological research, encouraging further investigation into AI's role in scientific advancements.