I agree the article is somewhat lacking, imprecise, and questionable. Also, it is not clear what is really new here, except maybe the developed a method to study this with plant clones (so they can look at just the epigenetic variations).
I think DNA methylation is just one type of epigenetics -- literally above the genes -- it can refer to any information encoded on top of nucleic acid base pairs.
Would you say that cultural does not "evolve" because the changes are usually lost within a few generations? Is "evolution" a trademark of classical genetic evolution scholars?
Also, at least according to NOVA on PBS in 2007, methylation epigenetics (which vary from cell to cell in the body) can be modified during one's life and influence inheritance. The NOVA program also claims methylation epigenetics accounts for the difference in phenotypes in identical twins. [edit: grammar]
I agree that "evolution" is usually a rather vague concept. In biology, however, we do have Darwin's definition based on the "strong principle of inheritance", involving differences in fitness among hereditary variations. Both methylation and cultural change fail the "hereditary" criterion in this strict definition.
It might be possible to analyze cultural change, to some extent, on these lines, provided the units of selection are well picked. (Dawkins made a brave attempt with "memes", but the only credible uses of that theory that I've seen involved peripheral phenomena, like earworms and various other inconsequential fads.) Methylation doesn't seem to fit that bill.
I think DNA methylation is just one type of epigenetics -- literally above the genes -- it can refer to any information encoded on top of nucleic acid base pairs.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epigenetics
Would you say that cultural does not "evolve" because the changes are usually lost within a few generations? Is "evolution" a trademark of classical genetic evolution scholars?
Also, at least according to NOVA on PBS in 2007, methylation epigenetics (which vary from cell to cell in the body) can be modified during one's life and influence inheritance. The NOVA program also claims methylation epigenetics accounts for the difference in phenotypes in identical twins. [edit: grammar]
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/genes/
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/epigenetics.html
http://classic.the-scientist.com/blog/display/55342/