Editing Methanol (section)

==Occurrence==
Small amounts of methanol are present in normal, healthy human individuals. One study found a mean of 4.5&nbsp;[[parts per million|ppm]] in the exhaled breath of test subjects.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Turner C|title=A longitudinal study of methanol in the exhaled breath of 30 healthy volunteers using selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry, SIFT-MS|journal=Physiological Measurement|volume=27|issue=7|pages=637–48|pmid=16705261|year=2006|doi=10.1088/0967-3334/27/7/007|bibcode=2006PhyM...27..637T|s2cid=22365066}}</ref> The mean endogenous methanol in humans of 0.45 g/d may be metabolized from [[pectin]] found in fruit; one kilogram of apple produces up to 1.4 g of pectin (0.6 g of methanol.)<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Lindinger W|title=Endogenous production of methanol after the consumption of fruit|journal=Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research|volume=21|issue=5|pages=939–43|pmid=9267548|year=1997|doi=10.1111/j.1530-0277.1997.tb03862.x}}</ref>

Methanol is produced by [[anaerobic organism|anaerobic bacteria]] and [[phytoplankton]].<ref>{{Cite web| url=http://www.whoi.edu/news-release/major-source-of-methanol-in-the-ocean-identified| title=Major Source of Methanol in the Ocean Identified| website=Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution| access-date=30 March 2016| date=10 March 2016| archive-date=28 December 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181228012937/http://www.whoi.edu/news-release/major-source-of-methanol-in-the-ocean-identified| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal| last1=Mincer| first1=Tracy J.| last2=Aicher| first2=Athena C.| title=Methanol Production by a Broad Phylogenetic Array of Marine Phytoplankton| journal=PLOS ONE| volume=11| issue=3| doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0150820| pmc=4786210| pmid=26963515| pages=e0150820| year=2016| bibcode=2016PLoSO..1150820M| doi-access=free}}</ref>

===Interstellar medium===
Methanol is also found in abundant quantities in star-forming regions of space and is used in astronomy as a marker for such regions. It is detected through its spectral emission lines.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Why_astronomers_hate_the_lawn-mowing_Roomba_999.html |title= Why astronomers hate the lawn-mowing Roomba |publisher= Space Daily |date= 17 April 2015 |author= Brooks Hays |access-date= 20 April 2015 |archive-date= 27 April 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150427143024/http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Why_astronomers_hate_the_lawn-mowing_Roomba_999.html |url-status= live}}</ref>

In 2006, astronomers using the [[MERLIN]] array of radio telescopes at [[Jodrell Bank|Jodrell Bank Observatory]] discovered a large cloud of methanol in space {{convert|288|e6mi|Tm|lk=in|abbr=off|order=flip}} across.<ref>{{cite press release | url = http://www.jodrellbank.manchester.ac.uk/news/2006/cloud/ | publisher = [[Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics]] | title = Upgraded MERLIN spies cloud of alcohol spanning 288 billion miles | date = 19 April 2006 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110720152236/http://www.jodrellbank.manchester.ac.uk/news/2006/cloud/ | archive-date = 20 July 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | work = BBC News | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4878048.stm | title = Merlin sees vast alcohol stream | author = Amos, Jonathan | date = 5 April 2006 | access-date = 5 September 2010 | archive-date = 6 October 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141006215342/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4878048.stm | url-status = live}}</ref> In 2016, astronomers detected methanol in a planet-forming disc around the young star [[TW Hydrae]] using the [[Atacama Large Millimeter Array]] radio telescope.<ref>{{cite web|title=First Detection of Methyl Alcohol in a Planet-forming Disc|url=http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1619/|access-date=22 June 2016|archive-date=22 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160622153217/http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1619/|url-status=live}}</ref>