What is translation and where does it occur?

Translation is the process of synthesizing proteins from mRNA, occurring on ribosomes in the cytoplasm. The ribosome reads the mRNA sequence in codons (three nucleotides) and matches them with complementary anticodons on tRNA molecules carrying specific amino acids. Translation proceeds through initiation (ribosome assembly at start codon AUG), elongation (amino acid chain growth), and termination (at stop codons UAA, UAG, UGA). The process requires mRNA, tRNA, ribosomes, and various protein factors.