TL;DR: On September 23, 2026, Anthropic announced that Claude agents had found a previously uncharacterized enzyme system called array-associated reverse transcriptases in bacteriophages.

Anthropic announces first result from new biology lab

Anthropic said on September 23, 2026 that its AI model Claude had discovered a novel enzyme system with properties reminiscent of CRISPR, according to Anthropic. The company described the finding as an early result from a new life sciences research group and laboratory focused on fundamental biology research using Claude.

The group was formed in the spring of 2026 to test whether general AI models can systematize and accelerate discoveries from natural molecular diversity, according to Anthropic. The company said the program explores datasets of DNA to identify uncharacterized protein families, generates hypotheses at scale, and tests them through experiments in the lab.

The laboratory is located in the Bay Area and resembles a typical molecular biology lab, according to Anthropic. The company said the lab performs research involving only the lower levels of biosafety risk, BSL-1 and BSL-2, and does not handle pathogens that can infect humans.

Anthropic said all lab work is performed by human scientists. The company said Claude is used to search genomic datasets, generate hypotheses, analyze candidates, and help interpret experimental results, while people carry out the physical experiments.

The timing followed a report that Anthropic had quietly established a wet lab in the San Francisco Bay Area, according to CNA, which cited Reuters reporting from days earlier. CNA reported that the lab reflected an expansion of Anthropic’s ambitions in life sciences and drug-related research beyond purely computer-based work.

What Claude found in phage DNA

The system is called array-associated reverse transcriptases, or ART, according to Anthropic. The company said ART was found in bacteriophages, the viruses that infect bacteria.

ART is built around a reverse transcriptase, or RT, a type of enzyme that copies RNA into DNA, according to Anthropic. The company said the underlying RT, found in a jumbo phage, had been identified in previous studies.

What Claude identified as new was the broader system surrounding that enzyme, according to Anthropic. The company said Claude appears to be the first to recognize the system’s defining features, including an associated array of non-coding DNA sequences and an additional accessory protein of unknown function.

The arrangement combines a reverse transcriptase with a neighboring partner gene and a long array of evenly spaced DNA repeats, according to Interesting Engineering. That organization has similarities to CRISPR systems, although researchers do not yet know what ART does.

The company said the discovered system is associated with an array of DNA repeats, a pattern reminiscent of CRISPR. Although its function is not known, Anthropic said the system has a set of characteristics previously found together in only a handful of other systems, all of which are programmable and perform operations such as cutting, copying, and pasting DNA.

How 950 agents searched 200,000 enzymes

Anthropic said scientists gave Claude a prompt to search through a massive database of DNA sequences for interesting new examples of RTs. The company said its involvement was limited to the initial prompt and the laboratory work, while Claude agents searched the database, investigated distinct RT families, and used their own judgment to identify interesting candidates.

After 21 hours of searching by roughly 950 agents using 210 million tokens, one agent spotted a repeating pattern of DNA sequences next to the gene for an unusual-looking RT, according to Anthropic. Further analysis and testing in the company’s lab led researchers to recognize the pattern as a previously uncharacterized enzyme system.

The scale of that search was detailed further by Interesting Engineering, which reported that Claude agents collected more than 200,000 reverse transcriptases. The agents identified about 3,500 candidate systems and narrowed the field to 20 candidates for detailed reports, according to Interesting Engineering.

That publication reported that this type of genome-mining work could take an expert scientist weeks or months. Claude’s workflow included collecting candidates, grouping families, and prioritizing unusual architectures for human review.

One Claude agent focused on an unusual reverse transcriptase family and examined the raw DNA surrounding it, according to Interesting Engineering. It detected a tandem repeat array next to the RT gene, a pattern that had apparently not been recognized previously.

The agent then counted the repeats, measured their spacing, compared the arrangement with known reverse transcriptase systems, and searched scientific literature for earlier descriptions, according to Interesting Engineering. It ultimately flagged the sequence as a potentially new biological system for human researchers to review.

The Verge reported that nearly 950 Claude agents worked through 210 million tokens over 21 hours before one spotted an unusual repeating pattern and flagged it for human review. Further analysis and lab testing then revealed a previously uncharacterized enzyme system in bacteriophages, according to The Verge.

Why repeat arrays drew attention

Researchers were interested because the ART repeat array is expressed as multiple distinct short RNAs in initial laboratory experiments, according to Interesting Engineering. That observation is notable because CRISPR arrays also generate RNAs that help make CRISPR-Cas systems programmable.

Anthropic said the combination of an RT, an accessory protein, and repeat-derived RNAs resembles a small group of previously discovered biological systems capable of programmable operations involving DNA. Those operations include cutting, copying, or inserting genetic material, according to Interesting Engineering.

The company cautioned that ART has not been shown to function like CRISPR. Its biological role remains unknown, and further experiments are underway to determine what the reverse transcriptase, accessory protein, and repeat-derived RNAs do, according to Interesting Engineering.

Anthropic said work to understand the primary function of ARTs is ongoing. The company said it decided to share the finding early to demonstrate Claude’s capabilities and to give the broader research community insight into its work.

Anthropic also released a pre-print describing the result in more detail, according to Anthropic. The company said the ART work remains at an early stage and researchers are now investigating its biological function and whether its unusual architecture could eventually have biotechnology applications, as summarized by Interesting Engineering.

Outside reaction and context

After reviewing the pre-print, Feng Zhang, a pioneer of CRISPR genome editing and a professor at MIT and the Broad Institute, said the finding merits further investigation, according to Anthropic.

This is an exciting example of how AI agents can contribute to biological discovery.

Zhang added that the identification of RNA-repeat arrays associated with reverse transcriptases is genuinely intriguing and merits further investigation, according to Anthropic and Interesting Engineering. He also said he hoped the work encourages more scientists to explore how AI can support their research.

Anthropic placed the result in the history of discoveries that began with researchers noticing unusual molecular machines in nature, according to Anthropic. The company cited restriction enzymes from bacterial immune systems, which destroy the DNA of invading viruses and later enabled cutting DNA at chosen places and splicing genes between organisms.

The company also cited Taq polymerase, identified in a bacterium in a Yellowstone hot spring, which became the basis for PCR, the DNA-copying method used in modern diagnostics, according to Anthropic. It cited CRISPR, first noticed as an unusual repeat sequence in certain bacteria and now the foundation of gene-editing-based medicines.

Despite Anthropic’s comparison to CRISPR, it remains unclear whether the discovery will have practical applications, according to The Verge. That publication described the announcement as admittedly premature and noted that several other programmable DNA-manipulating systems are now in development as promising tools.

What the announcement signals for AI science

Anthropic described its approach as a new way of doing biology research in which agents collaborate with humans at every step, according to Anthropic. Developing that workflow required building its own lab and a single team covering biology training for Claude through laboratory experiments.

The company said its life sciences organization also includes teams working on drug discovery and training Claude in biology and chemistry. The ART program is one of its first research programs under the new biology group.

The Verge reported that the result is the first from Anthropic’s newly launched wet lab and an early test of Claude’s usefulness for science as the company prepares to go public. The company said its scientists’ involvement was limited to the initial prompt and lab work.

The Verge also reported that the announcement comes as Anthropic seeks to attract more scientists and expand into areas including drug discovery. The broader push comes as AI companies increasingly turn to scientific research to demonstrate the value of more capable models.

Anthropic said many workflows begin with Claude searching DNA sequences associated with proteins without a known function. The company said a typical pattern starts with a survey of uncharacterized families, followed by computational prioritization and laboratory characterization.

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