In order for the science of biochemistry to advance significantly, methods needed to be developed to separate individual molecules so their characteristics could be known. This was made possible by the invention of the Tiselius tube.

A brilliant Swedish physical biochemist, Arne Tiselius (1902-1971), turned his attention to this problem at the beginning of his career in the 1920's, and made many contributions to the field throughout his research career. Born in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1902, Tiselius earned his M.A. in chemistry, physics, and mathematics from the University of Uppsala in 1924. The following year he became an assistant in the research laboratory of the eminent physical chemist Theodor Svedberg (1884-1971) in Uppsala and joined the university faculty in 1930 after receiving his doctorate. He later became director of Uppsala's Institute of Biochemistry.

When Tiselius joined Svedberg's lab, Svedberg was developing the high-speed centrifuge in order to study...