Anthropic’s AI biolab finds ‘CRISPR-like’ DNA in viruses. What’s next?

Heidi Ledford reports for Nature from Seattle, Washington.

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Bluesky Facebook LinkedIn Reddit Whatsapp X Save article View saved research AI agents trawling through genomic data spotted sequences of DNA (artist’s illustration) reminiscent of those in bacterial CRISPR immune systems. Credit: Kateryna Kon/SPL/Getty

Sure, AI can parse petabytes of data. But how well can it pipette?

Regardless of the answer, a rtificial intelligence titan Anthropic has launched a biology ‘wet lab’ where human scientists and AI agents will work together to design and conduct experiments. This week, the company announced one of the team’s first finds: a peculiar pattern of DNA in the genomes of several giant viruses.