Following this initial experimentation, many natural products were isolated and their
structures were determined. Once a structure was elucidated, chemists were able to devise
synthetic methods to synthesize these compounds. This was the beginning of modern
pharmaceutical chemistry. Today, researches are still looking for new compounds from
natural sources. Potential drugs are often isolated from sea creatures, like sponges or
slugs, parts of plants that were used in traditional medicine, or new a species discovered
in the rain forest.