A study by researchers at the University of California Berkeley has found that ethanol is surprisingly common in floral nectar, the sugary fuel that keeps pollinators alive. Yeast feeding on those sugars produces trace amounts of alcohol, and in this study, it showed up in 26 of the 29 plant species sampled.
Brazil is the world's dominant sugar exporter, accounting for roughly 45% of global sugar trade. The decision on how much sugarcane goes to sugar versus ethanol is influenced by fluctuating oil prices.
The new findings published Wednesday in Science Advances support the "drunken monkey" hypothesis, the idea that humans got our taste for alcohol from our primate ancestors. Now, the same UC Berkeley biologist who developed that theory has revealed in this new study just how much ethanol - the intoxicating ingredient in our cocktails - chimps might consume.
