{
  "id": 12908700,
  "title": "A biologist queries whether AI 'borrowed' his work to make major discovery—an expert explains the rules",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/08/a-biologist-queries-whether-ai-borrowed-his-work-to-make-major",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-10-08T16:40:10.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Phys.org",
    "slug": "phys-org",
    "url": "https://phys.org/news/2026-10-biologist-queries-ai-major-discovery.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Anthropic's AI, Claude, recently claimed to have discovered a new family of biological molecules called array-associated reverse transcriptases (ARTs) in bacteriophages. However, Dr. Mario Rodríguez Mestre, a Ph.D. candidate in computational biology, has raised doubts about Claude's independence in recognizing the significance of these enzymes. Mestre shared his dissertation and manuscript drafts with Claude, but Anthropic denies training the model on user transcripts or providing access to them. The patent for engineered retrons, which includes reverse transcriptase sequences from jumbo phages, was published before Anthropic's announcement. While the enzymes were identified by American scientists, Anthropic claims to have discovered a larger biological system involving repeated DNA sequences and a possible partner protein. Further experiments are required to confirm the enzyme's activity and understand its function in the virus. This case emphasizes the need for transparency in AI-generated scientific discoveries, crediting the original researchers who produced the data.",
  "summary": "AI company Anthropic recently announced that its popular system Claude had identified an unusual family of biological molecules. These molecules were enzymes, a type of protein that speeds up chemical reactions in living organisms.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}