Anthropic says its Claude artificial intelligence model helped researchers identify a previously unknown enzyme system in bacteriophages, marking a new example of AI being used to support biological discovery.
The company said hundreds of Claude AI agents analyzed a vast database of DNA sequences, identifying unusual genetic patterns associated with an enzyme system known as array-associated reverse transcriptases (ART). Researchers subsequently investigated the finding and confirmed that the system represents a previously uncharacterized biological mechanism.
Anthropic said the discovery could eventually provide insights into biological systems and gene-editing technologies, although the function and potential applications of ART remain unclear. The company stressed that further laboratory research is needed to understand how the system works and whether it could have practical uses.
The development highlights the growing role of AI in scientific research, with increasingly capable models being used to analyze large biological datasets and identify patterns that may be difficult for researchers to detect manually.
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