two giraffes. One giraffe has typical coloration of dark brown and white. The other as atypical coloration and is predominately white with a few light brown spots.

Source: Albino and Normal Coloration Giraffes, Cliff Lamere, Grandpa Cliff's Science Website for Teenagers

How do these two giraffes differ? The answer at first seems very easy. One has normal coloration and the other has abnormal coloration. But why do they have different coloration? Genes carry the information needed by cells to produce proteins, and proteins determine traits such as coloration. So how are proteins made?

Protein synthesis is the process in which cells build proteins. There are 2 main steps in protein synthesis, transcription and translation.