In what part of the cell does translation occur?

Translation occurs in the ribosome, which is a key component of the cellular machinery responsible for synthesizing proteins. During translation, the ribosome reads the messenger RNA (mRNA) sequence and assembles the corresponding amino acids to form a polypeptide chain, which eventually folds into a functional protein. Ribosomes can be found floating freely in the cytoplasm or attached to the endoplasmic reticulum, but the actual process of translation is specifically executed in the ribosome itself. This is where the genetic information encoded in mRNA is translated into the language of proteins, making the ribosome integral to the process of gene expression. Understanding this function highlights the ribosome's critical role in cellular function and the overall process of creating proteins essential for life.