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ribosome
Introduction References & Edit History Related Topics
Images & 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.
The video thumbnail image shows an illustration of an animal cell next to a photo of a whale swimming in the oean.
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.
How different parts of a cell interact
Eukaryotic vs. Prokaryotic Cells: Key Differences Explained
Quizzes
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

ribosome: References & Edit History

Article Contributors

Primary Contributors

  • The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
    Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.

Other Encyclopedia Britannica Contributors

Article History

Type Description Contributor Date
Modified link of Web site: Biology LibreTexts - Ribosomes. Aug 14, 2026
Add new Web site: Nature Structural and Molecular Biology - The human ribosome modulates multidomain protein biogenesis by delaying cotranslational domain docking. Oct 11, 2025
Add new Web site: Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology - Origin and Evolution of the Ribosome. Jul 05, 2025
Add new Web site: The Royal Society Publishing - Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B - Perspectives on the ribosome. May 22, 2025
Add new Web site: Cell Press - The ribosome οΏ½ a macromolecular machine par excellence (PDF). Dec 04, 2024
Add new Web site: CORE - The ribosome ? a macromolecular machine par excellence. Aug 24, 2024
Media added. Aug 23, 2024
Add new Web site: OpenStax - Biology 2e - Ribosomes and Protein Synthesis. Mar 08, 2024
Add new Web site: PNAS - History of the ribosome and the origin of translation. Jan 24, 2024
Add new Web site: Academia - Ribosome. Oct 19, 2023
Add new Web site: Florida State University - Molecular Expressions - Ribosomes. Aug 22, 2023
Add new Web site: Frontiers - Ribosome Biogenesis in Archaea. May 03, 2023
Added cross-references throughout. Mar 14, 2023
Add new Web site: British Society for Cell Biology - Ribosome. Feb 21, 2023
Add new Web site: Biology LibreTexts - Ribosomes. Jan 13, 2023
Add new Web site: National Center of Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - Ribosome Structural Changes Dynamically Affect Ribosome Function. Sep 21, 2022
Add new Web site: Khan Academy - Biology - Nucleus and Ribosomes. Apr 21, 2016
Added an illustration showing the role of the ribosome in protein synthesis. May 20, 2015
Added information on the discovery of ribosomes and on their structure and abundance within cells. May 20, 2015
Changed "triplets of amino acids (codons)" to "nucleotide triplets (codons)." Sep 16, 2013
New illustration added. Jan 15, 2009
Added new Web site: Carnegie Mellon - Ribosome Structures. Jul 17, 2008
Added new Web site: Center for Molecular Biology of RNA at University of California, Santa Cruz - The Ribosome. Jul 17, 2008
Added new Web site: Cytochemistry - Role of the Ribosome. Jun 16, 2008
Article revised and updated. Nov 08, 2007
Added new Web site: University of Texas Medical Branch - Role of the Ribosome.
  • Gaurav Shukla
 May 15, 2007
Added new Web site: Carnegie Mellon - 70S Ribosome Architecture.
  • Gaurav Shukla
 May 15, 2007
Added new Web site: Max Planck Institute - Ribosome Structure.
  • Gaurav Shukla
 May 15, 2007
Added new Web site: California Lutheran University - An Introduction to Ribosome Structure.
  • Gaurav Shukla
 May 15, 2007
Added new Web site: Rader's Biology4Kids - Ribosome.
  • Gaurav Shukla
 May 15, 2007
Added new Web site: History of the universe - Ribosome.
  • Gaurav Shukla
 May 15, 2007
Article added to new online database. Jul 20, 1998
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