sense strand

sense strand,

the strand of a double-stranded nucleic acid that encodes the product. In DNA it is the strand that encodes the RNA, having thus the same base sequence except changing T for U in the RNA. Compare antisense strand. Also called coding strand.

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sense

a faculty by which the conditions or properties of things are perceived. Hunger, thirst, malaise and pain are varieties of sense; a sense of equilibrium or of well-being (euphoria) and other senses are also distinguished. The five major senses comprise vision, hearing, smell (2), taste and touch (1).

The operation of all senses involves the reception of stimuli by sense organs. Each sense organ is sensitive to a particular kind of stimulus. The eyes are sensitive to light; the ears, to sound; the olfactory organs of the nose, to odor; and the taste buds of the tongue, to taste. Various sense organs of the skin and other tissues are sensitive to touch, pain, temperature and other sensations.

On receiving stimuli, the sense organ translates them into nerve impulses that are transmitted along the sensory nerves to the brain. In the cerebral cortex, the impulses are interpreted, or perceived, as sensations. The brain associates them with other information, acts upon them, and stores them as memory. See also sensation.

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cutaneous sense

skin senses including touch, pressure, pain, heat and cold.

sense organs

1. the organs of special sense including eye, olfactory organ, gustatory organs.

2. all organs containing sensory receptors.

special s's

the five senses including feeling, hearing, seeing, smelling, tasting.

sense strand

see coding strand.