How do genes work?

So how is it that we get from DNA and genes to proteins and cells? The first step is to take the "code" from the DNA and transcribe it into ribonucleic acid (RNA). The obvious question is why is it necessary to transcribe the DNA into RNA? The reason for this is a matter of location. The DNA is located inside the nucleus of the cell while the mechanism to make proteins is located outside the nucleus in the cytosol. The only way to transport this "code" outside the nucleus is to turn it into RNA which is only single stranded.
Now that we know why, lets take a look at how. One of the most important players in this process is RNA polymerase which moves along the uncoiled strands of DNA and matches the RNA to the sequence on the DNA. How does the RNA polymerase know where to start and stop? Each gene has a beginning and an end.

At the beginning of each gene is a similar sequence that tells the RNA polymerase to start working. The same is true at the end of each gene where a specific sequence tells the RNA polymerase to stop transcription. The sequence located at the beginning of the gene is called the promoter and the sequence located at the end is referred to as the terminator. Once the DNA sequence is transcribed into the RNA sequence the RNA leaves the nucleus and heads towards the ribosome. At the Ribosome the RNA will be translated to a protein.

Once at the ribosome the RNA from the nucleus is converted to a different form of RNA that will allow the nucleotide sequence to be converted to an amino acid sequence. Groups of three nucleotides called codons tell the new RNA which amino acid to put in place. Each amino acid has a select number of codons that translate the nucleic acid sequence into that particular amino acid. Once coded for these amino acids form a chain which becomes a polypeptide and eventually a functional protein. This whole process is called Translation.