ribosome: Quick Facts

Written and fact-checked by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Photos and Videos

Diagram of the endoplasmic reticulum in a cell, showing the nuclear envelope connected to smooth and rough endoplasmic reticulum, with ribosomes attached to the rough portion and labeled cisternae and cisternal space.

Diagram illustrating the process of protein synthesis: DNA unzips in the nucleus, messenger RNA (mRNA) forms on the DNA strands, and then mRNA moves to a ribosome where transfer RNA (tRNA) helps assemble amino acids into a protein chain.

Labeled diagram of a bacterial cell showing key structures including capsule, cell wall, plasma membrane, cytoplasm, chromosome, plasmid, ribosomes, mesosome, pili, and long flagella.

Illustration comparing three cell types: a round animal cell and an irregularly shaped plant cell, both showing labeled organelles, and an elongated bacteria cell with labeled structures such as flagella and capsule.

The video thumbnail image shows an illustration of an animal cell next to a photo of a whale swimming in the oean.

How different parts of a cell interact

Eukaryotic vs. Prokaryotic Cells: Key Differences Explained

See All Videos and Images →

Topics

ribosomal RNA translation cytoplasm Organelle Golgi apparatus mitochondrion Nitroplast endoplasmic reticulum peroxisome hydrogenosome lysosome transfer RNA cytoskeleton vacuole

Key People

Israeli protein crystallographer Ada Yonath

Ada Yonath

Israeli biochemist

default image

Venki Ramakrishnan

Indian-born physicist and molecular biologist

default image

Joachim Frank

German-American biochemist

default image

Thomas Steitz

American biophysicist and biochemist

default image

George E. Palade

Romanian-born American cell biologist

Mechanism of cellular autophagy, illustration for Nobel Prize Award in Medicine 2016. 3D illustration showing fusion of lysosome with autophagosome containing microbes and molecules.

Parts of a Cell Quiz