The ribosomal translation machinery (IMAGE) University of California - Berkeley Caption Ribosomes (blue, upper left) are nanomachines that read mRNA (coming in from left) to assemble a chain of amino acids (magenta balls) that folds into a compact 3D protein (lower right, pink). Credit Adapted from NSF image Usage Restrictions No restrictions. License Public Domain Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.