September 23, 2026
AI speeds search for a new DNA enzyme system: Claude picked 20 candidates
On September 23, Claude narrowed 3 500 candidate systems down to 20 ART candidates in 21,5 hours. Across 949 sessions, AI agents used 215,6 million tokens and produced 19 reports for human review. Anthropic calls ART a new system with CRISPR-like repeats.
Reverse transcriptase from jumbo phage had been described before. Anthropic says Claude was the first to identify the distinguishing features: an array of non-coding DNA repeats and an additional protein with an unknown function. ART consists of a reverse transcriptase, a neighboring gene, and a long array of evenly spaced DNA repeats. The system's function remains unknown.
The campaign started with more than 200 000 reverse transcriptases and selected 3 500 candidate systems. Anthropic compares that volume with weeks or months of expert analysis.
Tools change the answer. In 10 repeat runs, the agents did not read the DNA upstream of the reverse transcriptase and failed to find the repeat array. When the four strongest models received the sequence directly, they recognized the array in at least 90% of attempts. When working with files and tools, the result fell to 32%.
In initial lab tests, the ART array was expressed as a set of short RNAs. The enzyme's activity and its interaction with these RNAs still need to be confirmed.
Claude Science is available to download for Mac with Apple Silicon and Intel, Windows, and Linux. The beta is available on Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise, with an administrator enabling it for Team and Enterprise. Verified academic and nonprofit groups can get Claude Team for scientists: Standard for $0 per month or Premium for $15 per month for 12 months, from 1 to 25 seats.
Next milestone: lab validation of 20 ART candidates.
