Claude discovers a novel enzyme system with CRISPR-like repeats
Claude discovers a novel enzyme system with CRISPR-like repeats
Claude 发现了一种具有类似 CRISPR 重复序列的新型酶系统
We’re introducing a new life sciences research group and laboratory at Anthropic. Our focus is on fundamental biology research using Claude: exploring datasets of DNA to identify uncharacterized protein families, generating hypotheses at scale, and testing them through experiments in the lab. This post introduces the team behind this work and shares early results in which Claude discovered a novel enzyme system with properties reminiscent of CRISPR, with only high-level direction from our scientists.
我们正在 Anthropic 成立一个新的生命科学研究小组和实验室。我们的重点是利用 Claude 进行基础生物学研究：探索 DNA 数据集以识别未表征的蛋白质家族，大规模生成假设，并通过实验室实验进行验证。本文介绍了这项工作背后的团队，并分享了初步成果：在我们的科学家仅提供高层指导的情况下，Claude 发现了一种具有类似 CRISPR 特性的新型酶系统。
Many discoveries that have revolutionized biology and medicine started with a scientist noticing something odd in the staggering diversity of molecular machines found in nature. Restriction enzymes, proteins that cut DNA at specific short sequences, were found in bacterial immune systems, where they destroy the DNA of invading viruses. Researchers realized they could use these enzymes to cut DNA at chosen places and splice genes from one organism into another, which launched the biotechnology industry. Taq polymerase, an enzyme that copies DNA at high temperatures, was identified in a bacterium in a Yellowstone hotspring. It became the basis for PCR, the DNA-copying method used in much of modern diagnostics. CRISPR was first noticed as an unusual repeat sequence in the DNA of certain bacteria, and is now the foundation of gene editing-based medicines.
许多彻底改变生物学和医学的发现，都始于科学家注意到自然界中分子机器惊人多样性中的某些异常现象。限制性内切酶（一种在特定短序列处切割 DNA 的蛋白质）是在细菌免疫系统中发现的，它们在那里摧毁入侵病毒的 DNA。研究人员意识到，他们可以利用这些酶在选定位置切割 DNA，并将基因从一个生物体剪接到另一个生物体中，这开启了生物技术产业。Taq 聚合酶（一种在高温下复制 DNA 的酶）是在黄石公园温泉中的一种细菌里发现的。它成为了 PCR 的基础，而 PCR 是现代诊断中广泛使用的 DNA 复制方法。CRISPR 最初被发现是某些细菌 DNA 中一种不寻常的重复序列，现在已成为基于基因编辑药物的基石。
In the spring of 2026, we formed a research group to see whether general AI models can systematize and accelerate such discoveries. We believe that this acceleration will come from establishing a new way of doing biology research, in which agents collaborate with humans in every step of the process. Developing this new way of working required that we build our own lab and a single team working on everything from training Claude in biology to running experiments in the lab.
2026 年春季，我们成立了一个研究小组，旨在探索通用人工智能模型是否能够系统化并加速此类发现。我们相信，这种加速将源于建立一种新的生物学研究方式，即智能体在研究过程的每一步都与人类协作。开发这种新的工作方式要求我们建立自己的实验室，并组建一个统一的团队，负责从训练 Claude 的生物学知识到在实验室进行实验的所有工作。
Today, we’re sharing early results from one of our first research programs, in which Claude autonomously discovered a novel enzyme system that is associated with an array of DNA repeats, a pattern reminiscent of CRISPR. Although we don’t yet know its function, the system that Claude discovered has a set of characteristics that have only ever been found together in a handful of other systems, all of which are programmable and perform operations like cutting, copying, and pasting DNA. Beyond CRISPR, which has already transformed science and medicine, several other such systems are now in development as promising tools.
今天，我们分享了首批研究项目之一的初步成果：Claude 自主发现了一种与 DNA 重复序列阵列相关联的新型酶系统，其模式类似于 CRISPR。虽然我们尚不清楚其功能，但 Claude 发现的该系统具备一组特征，这些特征此前仅在少数其他系统中同时出现过，而所有这些系统都是可编程的，并能执行切割、复制和粘贴 DNA 等操作。除了已经改变了科学和医学的 CRISPR 之外，其他几种此类系统目前也正在开发中，有望成为极具前景的工具。
The system that Claude found is based on a reverse transcriptase (RT), enzymes that copy RNA into DNA. While this underlying RT, found in a jumbo phage, had been identified in previous studies, Claude appears to be the first to notice the system’s defining features—an associated array of non-coding DNA sequences and an additional accessory protein of unknown function.
Claude 发现的该系统基于逆转录酶（RT），即能将 RNA 复制为 DNA 的酶。虽然这种存在于巨型噬菌体中的基础 RT 在之前的研究中已被识别，但 Claude 似乎是第一个注意到该系统定义性特征的——即一组相关联的非编码 DNA 序列阵列，以及一种功能未知的额外辅助蛋白。
After reviewing the pre-print, Feng Zhang, one of the pioneers of CRISPR genome editing and a professor at MIT and the Broad Institute said: “This is an exciting example of how AI agents can contribute to biological discovery. The identification of RNA-repeat arrays associated with reverse transcriptases is genuinely intriguing and merits further investigation. I hope this work encourages more scientists to explore how AI can support their research.”
在审阅了预印本后，CRISPR 基因组编辑先驱之一、麻省理工学院及博德研究所教授张锋表示：“这是一个令人兴奋的例子，展示了人工智能智能体如何为生物学发现做出贡献。识别出与逆转录酶相关的 RNA 重复阵列确实非常引人入胜，值得进一步研究。我希望这项工作能鼓励更多的科学家探索人工智能如何支持他们的研究。”
We gave Claude a prompt to search through a massive database of DNA sequences for interesting new examples of RTs. Our involvement was limited to the initial prompt and the lab work, while Claude agents combed through the database, investigated the distinct RT families, and used their own judgement to identify interesting candidates. After 21 hours spent searching this data by roughly 950 agents using 210 million tokens, one of the agents spotted something remarkable: a repeating pattern of DNA sequences that occurs next to the gene for an odd-looking RT. After further analysis and testing in our lab, we recognized that this pattern marked a previously uncharacterized enzyme system found in bacteriophages (the viruses that infect bacteria) that we call array-associated reverse transcriptases (ART).
我们向 Claude 发出了提示，要求其在海量的 DNA 序列数据库中搜索有趣的新型 RT 实例。我们的参与仅限于最初的提示和实验室工作，而 Claude 智能体则负责梳理数据库、调查不同的 RT 家族，并利用其自身判断力识别出有趣的候选对象。在大约 950 个智能体使用 2.1 亿个 token 对这些数据进行了 21 小时的搜索后，其中一个智能体发现了一个显著现象：在一种外观奇特的 RT 基因旁边，出现了一种重复的 DNA 序列模式。经过实验室的进一步分析和测试，我们确认该模式标志着一种此前未被表征的酶系统，存在于噬菌体（感染细菌的病毒）中，我们将其称为阵列相关逆转录酶（ART）。
Our work to understand the primary function of ARTs is ongoing. However, we think it is important to share such findings early, both to demonstrate Claude’s capabilities and to give the broader community insight into what we’re working on. We have released a pre-print (here) that discusses this in more detail.
我们了解 ART 主要功能的工作仍在进行中。然而，我们认为尽早分享这些发现非常重要，这既能展示 Claude 的能力，也能让更广泛的社区了解我们正在进行的研究。我们已经发布了一份预印本（此处），其中讨论了更多细节。
About our lab: We are a team of scientists who have spent our careers exploring unusual proteins, and specialize in using computational approaches to systematically read DNA, interpret its evolution, and pick out biological systems for further characterization. Our research prior to joining Anthropic has helped to better understand the evolution and regulation of CRISPR systems, discover new enzymes for next-generation cell and gene therapies, and build tools for accelerating the identification of anomalies in DNA, such as human pathogenic variants. We are part of Anthropic’s life sciences organization, alongside teams whose work includes drug discovery, and training Claude in biology and chemistry.
关于我们的实验室：我们是一个由科学家组成的团队，职业生涯一直致力于探索不寻常的蛋白质，并专注于利用计算方法系统地读取 DNA、解读其进化过程，并挑选出生物系统进行进一步表征。在加入 Anthropic 之前，我们的研究曾有助于更好地理解 CRISPR 系统的进化和调控，发现用于下一代细胞和基因疗法的新型酶，并构建用于加速识别 DNA 异常（如人类致病变异）的工具。我们是 Anthropic 生命科学组织的一部分，与从事药物发现以及训练 Claude 生物学和化学知识的团队并肩工作。
Our lab, located in the Bay Area, looks like a typical molecular biology lab. We do research that involves only the lower-levels of the biosafety risk level (BSL-1 and BSL-2) and we do not handle pathogens that can infect humans. All of the lab work is performed by human scientists. Although we’ve experimented with using AI to accelerate lab work with initiatives like the Model Hardware Standard, this approach is less conducive to the sort of ad hoc workflows that are involved in our molecular biology research.
我们的实验室位于湾区，看起来像一个典型的分子生物学实验室。我们进行的研究仅涉及较低级别的生物安全风险（BSL-1 和 BSL-2），且不处理可感染人类的病原体。所有的实验室工作均由人类科学家执行。尽管我们曾尝试通过“模型硬件标准”（Model Hardware Standard）等倡议利用人工智能来加速实验室工作，但这种方法对于我们分子生物学研究中涉及的临时工作流程来说，效果并不理想。
How we work: Many of our workflows involve having Claude search through the vast collection of DNA sequences associated with proteins without a known function. One typical pattern begins with a survey of a given protein family. Claude reads the relevant literature and reproduces the…
我们的工作方式：我们的许多工作流程涉及让 Claude 在大量与功能未知蛋白质相关的 DNA 序列集合中进行搜索。一个典型模式始于对特定蛋白质家族的调查。Claude 阅读相关文献并复现……