Claude has discovered a previously unknown enzyme system hidden in the DNA of bacteriophages. Beside the enzyme’s gene sits a long array of repeating DNA—a structure that looks somewhat similar to CRISPR. We don’t yet understand what this system does, but only a handful of known systems share its features, and all of them are able to cut, copy, and paste DNA. Historically, the discovery of such programmable systems has helped revolutionize medicine. CRISPR, for instance, is now the foundation of genetic medicines. But it will take much more work to learn what this system does, and whether it can be put to similar use. Read more: anthropic.com/news/claude-di…

I asked Astra to look through my published science, identify new directions, and draft five NIH R01 proposals -- the multiyear, $1M-$2M grants that support much of academic biomedical science. In about one hour, using roughly $20 in compute, it produced entirely reasonable proposals. They were well grounded in my work and structured to appeal to study section reviewers. They looked very similar to what I would write if my goal were to get another grant. Astra reproduced that logic well. It turned existing work into questions, hypotheses, and experiments that would look familiar and defensible to a study section. The output was immediately recognizable as the work of an experienced academic scientist. If AGI means being able to produce the work of highly trained professionals, this is a clear concrete example. It produced something academic scientists spend a great deal of time doing. Academic medical centers build careers, laboratories, and their finances around this process. Scientists spend years writing these proposals as the next fundable extension of their work.