With obesity on the rise, so too is the diet and weight loss industry, currently valued at US$70 billion in the US alone. But most of us are still confused about the factors that lead to weight gain. Three commonly attributed factors are our genes, our microbiome (gut bugs) and our energy intake (kilojoules). So let’s examine how much each of these is to blame.

Genome.one sequences and interprets genomes to provide diagnoses to people affected by genetic diseases or who have a predisposition to specific genetic conditions. What separates them from the likes of 23andMe and Ancestry.com's services is that Genome.one's goal is to provide information that is meaningful in a clinical sense. At the recent AWS Summit held in Sydney, I spoke with Associate Professor Marcel Dinger, from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research and CEO of Genome.one, about the evolution of this field and how cloud computing has been an enabler as the company navigates the risks of using cloud systems for such personal data.

Remember when we all got a little creeped out that genetic testing companies can be forced to turn over your data to law enforcement? Ah, those were simpler times. Police found the Golden State Killer last week thanks in part to a relative's sample in a publicly available DNA database. The same kind that your relatives may already be in.

We often talk about empathy as though it's something we can all gain more of if we just try hard enough - like muscle, or a higher score in Candy Crush. But a new study out today provides new evidence for the idea that individual empathy differences are determined, at least in part, by genetics.

Recently, Vitaliy Husar received results from a DNA screening that changed his life. It wasn't a gene that suggested a high likelihood of cancer or a shocking revelation about his family tree. It was his diet. It was all wrong.

Everybody has a somatotype, or a genetic body type, that predicts their aptitude for certain fitness activities and goals. Knowing your somatotype might be good information to have, but don't put too much stock in it. You'll only limit yourself.

Genetics explain a lot of the differences in strength and muscularity between person to person. Specifically, the size of your frame, how many muscle fibres you're born with and how well you respond to training essentially separate you from your gym buddy or someone who can squat 454kg.

For the first time, researchers have identified 12 specific areas of the DNA sequence that are related to how many kids we will have, and how old we will be when we have them.

Some people are dramatically better at activities like sports, music and chess than other people. Take the basketball great Stephen Curry. This past season, breaking the record he set last year by over 40 per cent, Curry made an astonishing 402 three-point shots -- 126 more than his closest challenger.

What explains this sort of exceptional performance? Are experts "born", endowed with a genetic advantage? Are they entirely "made" through training? Or is there some of both?

Ever wonder why some people think coriander tastes like detergent while others scatter it over everything? Or why Brussels sprouts are delectable to some and disgusting to others? Part of that difference of opinion may lay in our genes.

Dog enthusiasts will frequently tell you that certain dogs have certain characteristics: Golden Retrievers are friendly, German Shepherds are protective, and Corgis are smarter than a fifth grader. But is a dog's breed really such a great predictor of its personality?