This is The Guardian.

Hi, Madeline here. We're on a break at Science Weekly. We'll be back with some new episodes for you next week.

But for now, we're going back to some of our favourites from 2024.

Now, I don't want to dampen your New Year's Eve plans, but today

we're returning to an episode which I have to say taught me a lot about how alcohol impacts

our health. I hope you enjoy it. It's a Sunweb holiday.

Hi there, we're Sunweb and we love ski holidays.

That feeling of cruising down beautiful slopes.

It's a feeling we want to share.

We want you to get the most out of your ski holiday.

That's why with Sunweb, your lift pass is always included, which saves you serious money.

That's money for a rounder drinks at the Acre, treating yourself at the spa, or maybe to just put in your piggy bank. Discover how much

you can save at sunweb.co.uk. Human's relationship with alcohol goes back a long, long way.

Seven thousand years ago, I think there's evidence from Syria of remains of equipment used to make beer.

Over the centuries it's helped us bond and celebrate.

It's been used in rituals, as an antiseptic, and even as an ancient form of payment.

Throughout all that time, we've also been aware of the dangers of drinking.

There's quite early accounts, for example, in Egypt, of problems being experienced

of people becoming addicted to alcohol, experiencing health issues. This double-sided personality

of alcohol has had a split. There's a nice quote from ancient Greece. I think it's Pliny the elder

who wrote that medical opinion is divided

as to whether alcohol benefits more people than it harms, or words to that effect.

...