E-Mail IMAGE: Tian's research reveals a novel winner-takes-all resource competition between synthetic gene circuits within one host cell. view more Credit: Graphic created by Xiaojun Tian/ASU. A new process for inserting synthetic gene circuits into host cells, developed by a team of bioengineers at Arizona State University, has broad implications for improving the effectiveness of a range of disease therapies. Synthetic biology is an interdisciplinary research field that uses engineering principles to create biological components that don't exist in the natural world. These synthetic components mimic naturally evolved organisms, but are customized to fight disease, including cancer. A paper recently published in