It is well known that the encapsulation of microbes does not affect their ability to transform substances. Filamentous fungi, as the name suggests, exist as long strands of cells and are not easily accommodated into small beads of immobilising material. Furthermore, it has been long accepted that breaking the strands into smaller pieces would lead to the death of the fungi. Professor Reese and his team doubted this untested belief and have found it to be untrue! Their invention involves growing the fungus in a nutrient medium, cutting up the mycelial strands produced, and encasing the fragments in calcium alginate beads. The pieces of fungi within the beads, although no longer growing, are alive and retain their ability to carry out chemical reactions. Also, separation of the products formed using this method is found to be easier than the purification of those made in liquid fermentations. An additional benefit is that at the end of the experiment the beads can be stored in the refrigerator, and can be reused in subsequent transformation trials. The innovation has the potential for the production of new pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and the like, at lower costs, since the expenses associated with their purification will be considerably lower