What is the primary function of ribosomes in a cell?

Ribosomes are essential cellular structures primarily responsible for protein synthesis. They translate the genetic information encoded in messenger RNA (mRNA) into polypeptide chains, which then fold into functional proteins. Ribosomes can be found floating freely in the cytoplasm or attached to the endoplasmic reticulum, forming rough ER. This function is critical because proteins play crucial roles in virtually all cellular processes, from structural support to enzyme activity, signaling, and transport. The ability of ribosomes to assemble amino acids into proteins based on the sequence dictated by mRNA is fundamental to the central dogma of molecular biology, which describes how genetic information flows from DNA to RNA to protein.