> (More seriously?) I think the research of how
> genetic material is modified by the immediate
> environment (including thoughts, etc.), suggests
> that the meme is none other than the cell membrane
> of the ovum (or even the collective of spermatozoa).
>
> We ARE looking for something which affects the
> expression of genes but which is modified
> "immediately" by the environment and/ or patterns of
> ideas (thoughts, behaviors, etc.), right?
No. We are talking about a *culturally-transmitted unit of information.*
Such units (memes) can in fact affect the expression of genes, among other
things, by affecting people's behaviour and by shaping the cultural
aspects of their environments, both of which affect survival differentials
and sexual selection. But that is not essential to the definition in any
way. Memes are not themselves genetic information; much less are they
cell membranes, which do do not relate to memetics any more than does the
average randomly chosen object, such as an underripe Hass avocado.
--Eva