Wellcome Images

Ribosomes are complex molecular machines that make all the proteins found in every living thing on the planet. All natural proteins everywhere, from the silk and wool in clothes to the proteins in foods such as steak and lentils, have at some stage been made by a ribosome. Ribosomes reside inside cells and read off the code carried from the DNA by the messenger RNA (mRNA). They use this code to put the constituent amino acids together in the right order to make the different proteins. This molecular model shows all the different molecules, both RNA (turquoise, green and yellow) and protein (purple and orange), that go together to make up the complete structure of the ribosome. The three solid elements in the centre of the ribosome, coloured green, red and reddish brown, are the transfer RNAs (tRNAs), which flit in and out carrying the amino acids directly to the place where they are added to the growing protein chain. This process can be observed in the accompanying on-screen animation of protein synthesis.
Molecular model by Venki Ramakrishnan.
B0006575