1. A gene codes for RNA, which then codes for a protein during protein synthesis. 2. Transcription is the process where DNA is copied into RNA in the cell nucleus. Translation is where the RNA is then used to produce a protein on ribosomes in the cytoplasm. 3. During transcription, RNA polymerase copies one of the DNA strands to produce messenger RNA (mRNA) that leaves the nucleus and attaches to ribosomes for translation into a protein.