September 2026 saw a wide range of scientific and technological developments spanning space exploration, medicine, artificial intelligence, and biology. Among the most notable developments reported by Anadolu Agency was the contribution of Claude, a model developed by Anthropic, to identifying unusual examples of enzymes that copy RNA into DNA, before laboratory tests confirmed their association with an enzyme system that had not previously been described.
Claude Helps Search for a New Enzyme System
A team established by Anthropic to conduct biological research with Claude used approximately 950 agents to search a large database of DNA sequences for reverse transcriptase enzymes. After 21 hours of searching, one of the agents found an unusual result. Subsequent tests showed that the result pointed to an enzyme system previously found in viruses that infect bacteria, but that had not been characterized until then.
What matters here is not that the model conducted the experiment itself; the source explains that the team’s role was limited to writing prompts and supporting the laboratory work. The practical value lies in using artificial intelligence to narrow the scope of searches within enormous biological databases, while final scientific verification remained dependent on the laboratory.
A Brain Interface Combining Speech and Body Movement
The National Institutes of Health in the United States announced the development of a brain-computer interface system that converted brain signals from three patients with paralysis into a virtual avatar. The system transmitted signals associated with speech and body movements simultaneously through special cables connected to the patients and machine-learning technologies.
This could allow patients, particularly those with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, to communicate more quickly through a digital avatar. According to the source, previous systems achieved separate results in transmitting speech or movement, whereas this system combines both functions. However, the reported results remain linked to three patients, so the report does not establish how ready the technology is for broad clinical use.
Developments in Space and Medicine
On September 25, China launched the twenty-sixth group of internet satellites belonging to the Guovang network into low Earth orbit using a Long March 8A rocket, in a mission designated number 669 among Long March rocket missions.
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter also detected a crater created by an impact in May 2024, measuring approximately 222 meters in diameter and 43 meters in depth, and named after lunar scientist Thomas McGetchin. The article reported that China’s FAST telescope had recorded more than 1,300 pulsars since it began operating in 2016.
In medicine, the article stated that a person in the United States lived for 271 days without dialysis after receiving a genetically modified pig kidney, before later receiving a human donor kidney. It also referred to a study involving mice whose brains developed approximately four million human cells, and to research estimating that usable water resources on the Moon might not be sufficient for a city of one million people for more than two and a half years, according to the consumption assumptions included in the study.
Observations from Biology and Animal Behavior
The article also reported findings indicating that some African elephants may use certain plants to treat themselves or their young. Researchers identified 35 plant species used by elephants, 25 of which are used by local residents for medical purposes. As reported, this finding remains evidence of a possible behavior requiring further study to understand its mechanism and the extent to which it is deliberate.