Reuters Science News Summary

Following is a summary of current science ​news briefs.

New cat species ​identified in Bolivia, first ‌in ​over a century

A diminutive wild cat that inhabits Bolivia's cloud forest has been identified as a ‌previously unknown species, marking the first time a new living cat species has been formally named and described in more than a century. The ‌cat, called Tilcayo by local communities, is part of a group ‌called tiger cats found across much of South America. It was found in Bolivia's lush Yungas forest, a mountainous region where forests are often covered by clouds ⁠and ​surrounded by high ⁠humidity, according to researchers. It measures about 18 inches (46 cm) long and weighs around ⁠3 pounds (1.4 kg), making it smaller than the average domestic cat.

Exclusive-Anthropic quietly ​sets up biology lab as it ramps AI drug program

Anthropic has ⁠quietly set up a laboratory to do physical biology work as it pushes its ⁠artificial-intelligence ​ambitions into the world of drug science. At a time when fears of AI are gripping the public, the startup has ⁠built a wet lab, or place for physical experiments, in the San ⁠Francisco Bay Area, ⁠two people familiar with the matter said. Anthropic has said it wants to unlock treatments for rare ‌diseases, and ‌its biology work has gone beyond "in ​silico" or computer evaluations.