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If your friend far away
speaks a different language,
they would need the letter
translated before they could
understand it. If you were
to send the letter via a
translation agency of some
description, then when your
friend receives the letter,
they will understand it
perfectly.
In a cell, before any
part of the cell can receive
and carry out the
information, the
instructions must be
translated into a format it
can understand. This new
format for the information
is called protein.
Translation of messenger RNA
into protein takes place at
the ribosomes. They are the
‘translation agencies’ of a
cell.
Try translation for
yourself – interactive
The protein is then sent
to the part of the cell that
needs the information, or it
is sent out into the body.
Each gene holds a
different set of
instructions to produce
proteins of different shape
and chemical composition.
Different proteins perform
different functions in the
body. |
