>>12994451>the way I understand it, the genes are not really altered, they are just activated or de-activated.You understand this correctly, but the key thing that's new is the discovery of mechanisms that also affects sexual reproduction especially with respect to DNA that gets passed on. It is a lot more complex than even what genes are produced by sperm cells. For example, even though egg cells mostly do not change, maternal mtDNA can and does affect and is passed on to fetilised zygotes.
So the key point is that certain epigenetic effects determines not only DNA strands itself, but also there are some papers that lasting effects in expression triggers too.
What you are right about in terms of "reset" is that there can now be new epigentic changes in the offspring, but for example if the first gen didn't not have certain triggers then they would lack certain DNA strands, especially wrt mtDNA. This kind of analogue process in turn affects both the binary strands and the expressions of the next generation.
That is why, for example, the timing of when reproduction occurs matters for the health of the offspring.
