The Economist Hello, this is Alok Jha,
host of Babbage, our weekly podcast on science and technology.
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Whether it is champagne, fizzing on the tongue, a hoppy beer coating the palate,
or a plummy wine staining the lips, alcohol announces itself instantly.
First there is a faint burning sensation, a little chemical spark,
as the thin mouth membranes absorb a drop.
If the stomach is empty, the booze starts to pass into the bloodstream within minutes,
and then reaches almost every cell and tissue in the body.
The secret to its rapid transit is in its chemistry.
Ethanol, to give booze its proper name, is a tiny, agile molecule.
It has a backbone of two carbon atoms and is soluble in water.
It can hop over the blood-brain barrier like a ninja, and then the fun begins.
By gate-crashing our brains, alcohol has shaped human history,
from our ancestors' descent from the trees to the formation of modern cities.
Yet because it brings misery and sickness as well as joy and conviviality,
our species' love affair with it is on the rocks.
Sales are sliding in rich countries, some think global consumption has peaked.