Gene Circuit Resource Competition — Ribosome Loading & Burden (2D)

Synthetic gene circuits don't run in isolation — every plasmid-borne gene draws on the same finite pool of host ribosomes as the cell's own growth machinery. This 2D simulator renders that shared ribosome pool as a swarm of particles orbiting a free pool and three competing "stations" (Circuit A, Circuit B, host housekeeping genes), with a live strip-chart tracking the underlying numbers over time. Raise a synthetic circuit's promoter/RBS strength and watch ribosomes flow away from free circulation and from the host's own housekeeping genes toward that circuit, exactly as the Michaelis–Menten competition model predicts. Two live circuits with no shared regulator still couple to each other because they compete for the same pool, and the host's growth rate — driven by the ribosomes left over for its own translation — drops as either circuit is loaded harder. Tune total ribosome supply and binding affinity to see how a bigger or faster-growing host strain buffers against burden.