Superfast microbe can rewrite biotech

Spotlight of Forage Evolution, a Cornell University spinout founded by Bryce Brownfield, David Specht, and Cameron Kitzinger, pioneering a faster and simpler way to engineer biology using Vibrio natriegens—one of the fastest-growing microbes on Earth. By enabling efficient “natural transformation”, the company dramatically reduces the time, cost, and equipment typically required for biotech R&D. Recently accepted into Cornell’s Center for Life Science Ventures incubator, Forage Evolution is accelerating its transition from academic breakthrough to commercial platform. Its technology aims to make high-throughput genetic engineering more accessible and scalable, powering applications from automated synthetic biology to sustainable biomanufacturing.