Anthropic Says Claude Discovered New CRISPR-Like Enzyme System in Its Biology Lab
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Anthropic has announced that its AI system, Claude, played a primary role in discovering a previously unknown enzyme system within bacteriophage DNA. This newly identified biological mechanism exhibits properties similar to CRISPR, including the ability to cut, copy, and paste DNA sequences. CEO Dario Amodei stated that Claude completed the initial research phase in just 21 hours by deploying approximately 950 agents to analyze vast amounts of data. While the discovery was largely driven by AI, Anthropic emphasized that all physical laboratory experiments were conducted exclusively by human scientists. The company’s Bay Area wet lab operates at biosafety levels 1 and 2, ensuring no handling of pathogens that infect humans. This announcement follows Amodei’s recent public discussions regarding the need to pace frontier AI development due to bioterrorism concerns. Despite these safety warnings, Amodei expressed optimism that AI could potentially help cure most diseases within the next five to ten years. The broader scientific community is currently tasked with validating this significant finding.
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