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The CELL (You...just a million times smaller)
Ribosomes

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Ribosomes are small organelles that consist of RNA and protein. They could either be free in the cytoplasm or attached to the ER. Ribosomes are made up of two subunits called the large and small subunits. The ribosomes are sites of protein synthesis.

Translation is the second part of protein synthesis and occurs at the ribosomes (click here for more deatiled info on transcription and translation). In translation, m-RNA sontaining the genetic info from the nucleus is brought out to the cytoplasm. The ribosomes attach to the m-RNA and move along it. As it moves along, three of the nucleotides (known as a codon) are read by the ribosome. T-RNA in the cytoplasm has three complementary bases (known as the anticodon) and brings to the ribosome an amino acid. The ribosome has two sites. The P-site and A-site. The P-site, holds the growing protein chain. The A-site recieves the newly brought in amino acid. Thus, in this way, our genetic info is translated into a protein chain.