transcription

n. 1. The writing down of verbal materials, as in tapes of therapy sessions or court proceedings. 2. The process of reproducing DNA in which messenger RNA forms into complementary patterns to the DNA and then directs synthesis of a copy of the DNA by assembling chains of nucleic bases in the appropriate order to produce a nearly exact copy of the DNA. Over the course of many such replications small fragments tend to be lost from the ends of the DNA strands, a process which is a primary cause of aging.