The winners of the Applied Microbiology International Horizon Awards 2024 have been announced.

The prizes, awarded by the learned society Applied Microbiology International (AMI), celebrate the brightest minds in the field and promote the research, group, projects, products and individuals who continue to help shape the future of applied microbiology.

New research has found that people with a genetic defect in their ability to digest sucrose eat less cake, sweets and chocolate, which could hold the key to helping the wider population to eat less sugar.

The international study, which is published in Gastroenterology, shows that genetic variations in the sucrase-isomaltase (SI) gene are associated with the intake, and preference, of sucrose-rich foods. Scientists found that mice lacking the SI gene have a lower intake and preference for dietary sucrose, which develops rapidly and is associated with changes in the regulation of appetite hormones. This was confirmed in large population-based cohorts showing that people with genetic defects in sucrose digestion eat fewer cakes, pastries, candy, and chocolate and like foods less as their sucrose content increases.