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The process by which DNA is copied to RNA is called transcription. Then RNA is used to produce proteins, which is called translation.
Transcription
Specifically, an enzyme called RNA polymerase copies information in a gene's DNA into a molecule called messenger ribonucleic acid (or mRNA).
- The mRNA travels out of the nucleus and into the cell's cytoplasm.
- It is read here by a tiny molecular machine called a ribosome.
- The information is used to link together small molecules called amino acids in the right order.
- These amino acids join together in the right order to form specific proteins.