CONNECT WITH US
AI & Deeptech

AI & Deeptech

Anthropic says Claude discovered a new enzyme system, but CRISPR researchers call it routine genome mining

The Decoder logo

Published on

Add as a preferred source on Google
Anthropic says Claude discovered a new enzyme system, but CRISPR researchers call it routine genome mining

Anthropic's AI model Claude found a previously unknown enzyme system in DNA databases, doing most of the analysis on its own. Humans set the research question and ran the lab experiments. The system resembles the gene-editing tool CRISPR.

Anthropic calls it one of the first discoveries from its Bay Area biology lab, which opened in spring 2026. About 950 AI agents spent 21 hours combing through more than 200,000 reverse transcriptases, enzymes that convert RNA into DNA. Next to one unusual enzyme, they found repeating DNA sequences. The system, dubbed "ART," shows up mostly in bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacteria. Its function is still unknown.

Lucas Harrington is less impressed. He earned his PhD under Nobel laureate Jennifer Doudna, who co-discovered CRISPR-Cas9, and co-founded Mammoth Biosciences with her. Mammoth uses genome mining to hunt for CRISPR systems itself. On X, Harrington wrote that the method has been around for decades and that similar systems have been known since 2008. The hard part is figuring out what a system actually does, and Anthropic hasn't shown that. Presenting early results as a major discovery isn't helpful, he said.

Subscribe to THE DECODER for ad-free reading, a weekly AI newsletter, our exclusive "AI Radar" frontier report six times a year, full archive access, and access to our comment section.



Source link
Related Topics:AI & Deeptech

Disclaimer

We strive to uphold the highest ethical standards in all of our reporting and coverage. We TheMorningPulse.fyi want to be transparent with our readers about any potential conflicts of interest that may arise in our work. It's possible that some of the investors we feature may have connections to other businesses, including competitors or companies we write about. However, we want to assure our readers that this will not have any impact on the integrity or impartiality of our reporting. We are committed to delivering accurate, unbiased news and information to our audience, and we will continue to uphold our ethics and principles in all of our work. Thank you for your trust and support.