A network of 949 AI agents identified a novel molecular machine in viruses that could potentially manipulate DNA after scanning 1.94B protein clusters. The discovery, named ART for array-associated reverse transcriptases, was found by Claude in the DNA of bacteriophages and consists of repeating DNA patterns similar to those found in CRISPR systems. Anthropic's life sciences team verified the finding in a BSL1/BSL2 lab and observed that the system produces short RNA molecules. While the precise biological function is not yet clear, the system's features suggest it can cut, copy, and paste DNA, potentially serving as a new tool for gene editing.

The result is the first of its kind from a molecular biology lab Anthropic established in Spring 2026 to accelerate fundamental research. CEO Dario Amodei believes AI progress in biology is following an exponential curve similar to its track record in mathematics. Amodei claims that applying AI to every stage of the biomedical pipeline could make it "barely possible" to cure most diseases within 5 to 10 years. The company plans to eventually enable Claude to autonomously control laboratory equipment to design and execute biological experiments.