Anthropic says Claude discovered a novel enzyme system with CRISPR-like repeats
raahelb · hn · 2026-09-24
Hacker News discusses Anthropic's announcement that Claude discovered a previously unknown enzyme system hidden in bacteriophage DNA, with a repeating DNA array resembling CRISPR. The few known systems sharing its features can cut, copy, and paste DNA, suggesting a possible new programmable gene-editing mechanism — though its function and utility remain unverified. Commenters debate AI-driven scientific discovery and its credibility.
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