3. I've been to a few conferences which mixed geneticists with (human) epigenetics guys, and I have never been impressed with the quality of their work. Lots of different measures of "biological clocks". Lots of multiple hypotheses without much correcting for them. No clear theory. I ended up being very skeptical.
I’d be curious to get to the heart of why we believe heritability in behavior is due to genetic changes. It’s way more likely to be due to mimetic changes.
Throwing out a fundamentals text is valid. But you need to point out where OP made a mistake that's so elementary it requires going back to the basics for it to not come across as low dismissal.
the entire OP displays a lack of knowledge regarding epigenetic mechanisms, as well as a lack ot knowledge base required to make an informed appraisal.
the knowledge base required, is extensive for a non biologist, and made difficult to attain without experience interpreting decades long synthesis.
thus the fundamentals are provided, should anyone desire breadcrumbs pursuant to independant edifiction.
I'm a scientist with about four published papers in genetics - not a geneticist myself, but I coauthor. I'm simply reporting my experience with the field.
there is a claim that epigenetic mechanisms in bacteria provide weak support for such in humans, not true it was the basis for realizing that epigenetic mechanisms exist, and was central to understanding regulaion of expression.
there is a claim that meiosis resets the genome and that is absolutely untrue.
regulation would be impossible if epigenetic state was wiped out, the result is most often cancer, or lethal dose effects at the cellular stage of development.
you say you are not a geneticist yet you are criticizing geneticists for presentation of hypotheses while lacking the background.
timing of binding and procession reative to halflife of the expression complex is a critical part of regulation of genetic activity.
i am a scientist as well, molecular geneticist; organic chemist, nuclear physicist. i am a true polymath, this is not a meme, i contract for a body of government agencies, as a science officer, thus my ID and fine details of my work are not up for discussion, nor is any of my work for the last 10 years.
i would however be fine discussing generalities of expression regulation systems if you like.
reprogramming, is not resetting.
the "reprogramming" happens constantly, as a consequence of feedback driven regulation, not as a consequence of meiosis.
there is a phase of error correction that occurs after chromosomal replication, and segregation, to mitigate the damage that is part of meiosis.
if you reset; reprogram, epigenetic regulatory features during meiosis the most frequent outcome is lethal allelic dose or oncogenesis [cancer] why?
embryogenic genes, responsible for early development, are deactivated. expression of these genes are the processes of cancer, unregulated growth, and multiplication, aberrant cell signalling, loss of adhesion to surroundfing tissue structure, aberrant migration [metastasis].
the "reprogramming" [regulation of expression] is facultative, and partial, not total, and obligate.
this is why epigenetic phenomenon exist, else it would be wiped out prior to embryogenesis, and there would be no context specific expression.
2. The case against epigenetics in humans is laid out nicely by Razib Khan: https://www.razibkhan.com/p/you-cant-take-it-with-you-straig...
3. I've been to a few conferences which mixed geneticists with (human) epigenetics guys, and I have never been impressed with the quality of their work. Lots of different measures of "biological clocks". Lots of multiple hypotheses without much correcting for them. No clear theory. I ended up being very skeptical.