SAN DIEGO — Researchers from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego have developed a new approach to scour the oceans for novel compounds that could become the future.

The new method captures chemical compounds directly from the sea and could allow scientists to more fully tap the biochemical potential of the world’s oceans.

By providing access to previously unexplored chemical space, the new method could expand and accelerate drug discovery efforts and lead to new treatments for various diseases.

The technique is described as "small molecule in situ resin capture." The approach involves placing mesh pouches filled with small porous resin-based beads in the ocean and then retrieving the beads to see what they’ve captured.

Micromarine biologist and professor Paul Jensen, marine natural product chemist and staff research associate Alex Bogdanov, and professor and organic chemist Ted Molinkski explained how the technology works, why the technique is a time saver — and why it is a big deal.