DNA Methylation

DNA methylation is a type of chemical modification of DNA that can be inherited and subsequently removed without changing the original DNA sequence. As such, it is part of the epigenetic code and is also the most well characterized epigenetic mechanism.
DNA methylation involves the addition of a methyl group to DNA — for example, to the number 5 carbon of the cytosine pyrimidine ring — with the effect of reducing gene expression. DNA methylation at the 5 position of cytosine has been found in every vertebrate examined. In adult somatic tissues, DNA methylation typically occurs in a CpG dinucleotide context; non-CpG methylation is prevalent in embryonic stem cells.
In plants, cytosines are methylated both symmetrically (CpG or CpNpG) and asymmetrically (CpNpNp), where N can be any nucleotide. Some organisms, such as fruit flies, exhibit virtually no DNA methylation

Metabolomics

Metabolomics is the "systematic study of the unique chemical fingerprints that specific cellular processes leave behind" - specifically, the study of their small-molecule metabolite profiles.The metabolome represents the collection of all metabolites in a biological organism, which are the end products of its gene expression. Thus, while mRNA gene expression data and proteomic analyses do not tell the whole story of what might be happening in a cell, metabolic profiling can give an instantaneous snapshot of the physiology of that cell. One of the challenges of systems biology is to integrate proteomic, transcriptomic, and metabolomic information to give a more complete picture of living organisms.

Protein analysis

Protein analysis , and biomolecular NMR.contains a broad selection of products for Western blotting, protein electrophoresis, protein quantitation, protein chromatography, custom peptides, mass spectrometry, x-ray crystallography

Stem Cell Biology

Stem and progenitor cell research is a complex and very exciting field that promises fantastic curative discoveries in numerous areas from cancer to diabetes to neurogenerative diseases. Sigma-Aldrich offers an comprehensive and unprecedented number of products to support scientists in the discovery efforts in this area. These products are necessities in many areas including isolation, differentiation, genomics and epigenetics, functional profiling, and in vivo/in vitro tracking. Applications such as transfection, cell and protein characterization, RNAi, ADMET, and imaging are instrumental in the development of stem cells in regenerative medicine and drug discovery. The products contained within this Web site are considered tools for stem cell science and support our customers in their efforts to develop cardiac, hematopoietic, endocrine, and neurological disease therapies either in the areas of basic research, regenerative medicine, or drug efficacy and safety screening.