Anthropic reports Claude found previously uncharacterized enzyme system

Anthropic says Claude identified a previously uncharacterized enzyme system in bacteriophages, and company scientists found in laboratory experiments that its associated DNA repeat array produces distinct short RNAs. Claude agents searched DNA sequence data for unusual reverse transcriptases, enzymes that copy RNA into DNA, then flagged a nearby repeat array and partner gene for human review. The company calls the system array-associated reverse transcriptases. Its biological function remains unknown, so the resemblance to programmable systems such as CRISPR does not establish that it can edit DNA.