A core part of Anthropic's mission is to help increase the rate of scientific progress. The company is focusing on building tools that allow researchers to make new discoveries, with a long-term goal of creating models that can eventually make discoveries autonomously.

While scientists have previously used Claude for individual tasks like code writing or summarizing papers, Anthropic now aims to support the entire research and development process, from early discovery to commercialization.

To make Claude a more effective partner for researchers, clinical coordinators, and regulatory affairs managers, several key improvements are being introduced.

Improved Core Capabilities

The underlying performance of Claude has been enhanced.The latest model, Claude Sonnet 4.5, shows significantly better results on life sciences tasks compared to its predecessor. For instance, on a benchmark that tests understanding of laboratory protocols, it scored higher than the previous model and slightly above the established human baseline. It also showed similar improvement on a separate benchmark for bioinformatics tasks.

New Connections to Scientific Tools

Claude can now connect directly to other specialized platforms,making it more useful for scientific discovery. New connections include:

1. Benchling: Allows Claude to reference source experiments and records.
2. BioRender: Connects to a library of scientific figures and templates.
3. PubMed: Provides access to millions of biomedical research articles.
4. Scholar Gateway (by Wiley): Offers access to peer-reviewed scientific content.
5. Synapse.org: Enables data sharing and analysis on collaborative projects.
6. 10x Genomics: Lets researchers conduct single cell and spatial analysis using natural language.

These join existing connections to general-purpose tools like Google Workspace and Microsoft 365, as well as data platforms like Databricks and Snowflake.

New Task-Oriented Abilities

Anthropic recently released"Agent Skills"—folders containing instructions and resources that help Claude perform specific tasks consistently. This is particularly useful for scientific work that requires following strict protocols.

The company is developing its own scientific skills, starting with one for performing quality control on single-cell RNA sequencing data. Scientists will also be able to build their own custom skills.

Practical Applications

With these updates,Claude can be used for tasks such as:

1. Research: Conducting literature reviews, citing sources, and developing testable ideas.
2. Generating Protocols: Drafting study protocols and standard operating procedures.
3. Data Analysis: Processing and analyzing genomic data, with results presented in slides, documents, or code notebooks.
4. Compliance: Drafting regulatory submissions and compiling compliance data.

To help researchers get started, a library of pre-written prompts for these types of tasks is being created.

Support and Availability

Anthropic is providing dedicated support from subject matter experts and is partnering with consulting firms like Deloitte,Accenture, and KPMG, as well as cloud partners AWS and Google Cloud, to help organizations adopt these tools.

The company also runs an "AI for Science" program, which provides free API credits to support researchers working on high-impact projects.

Claude for Life Sciences is available now through Claude.com and the AWS Marketplace, with availability on the Google Cloud Marketplace coming soon.