Transcription
Transcription is the first step in protein synthesis. The DNA first "unzips" to form a smaller version of itself called RNA. This process occurs in the nucleus of a cell. The RNA then leaves the cell to go on to the next step of protein synthesis; translation.
Translation
The process of translating the sequence of (mRNA) to a sequence of amino acids. The genetic code describes the relationship between base pairs in a gene and the corresponding amino acid sequence. In the cytoplasm, the ribosome reads the sequence of the mRNA in groups of three bases to assemble the protein.