Claude helped Anthropic solve a giant protein structure in days
Anthropic’s biology lab says the AI accelerated the first 3D map of a prokaryotic vault particle, while making errors that still required expert oversight.
Anthropic’s biology research team says Claude helped it determine the first three-dimensional structure of a vault particle associated with prokaryotic life. Vaults are enormous barrel-shaped protein assemblies whose biological role remains unknown.
The team used Claude Science to search roughly 15 billion predicted proteins for distant vault relatives, then asked the model to help design DNA constructs and experimental protocols. Of 15 soluble proteins produced in E. coli, seven formed vault-like particles under an electron microscope; cryo-electron microscopy confirmed four. The detailed L05 particle, derived from a phage protein, contains 96 protein copies and has a mass of about 9.5 megadaltons.
Anthropic says an optimized purification took about 90 minutes instead of roughly three days. Claude then ran RELION processing in an internal multi-agent system, producing a first full structural model in 34 hours—work the team estimates would normally take weeks.
The project also exposed limits. One Claude-written protocol caused a two-week delay, and the model initially produced a map blended with its mirror image after skipping a standard processing step. Human researchers selected candidates, supervised analysis and corrected errors.
The findings remain preliminary: the particles were produced in E. coli, not observed in their native bacteria or phages, their function is still unknown, and the technical report has not yet completed peer review.
Anthropic
