Two-headed Newts: The Spemann-Mangold Monster

-Image source: Veterian Key

When cells construct an embryo, context matters. The concept of cell fate induction, seemingly so obvious to us, would not be known without the dedicated work of German PhD student Hilde Mangold. As a female graduate student in the 1920s, Mangold was not destined for fame or glory. In fact, her originally-assigned thesis work was to repeat the already-proven, tedious work of Abraham Trembley on inverting Hydra polyps. However, after numerous failed attempts on this front, Mangold approached her advisor, experimental embryologist Hans Spemann, for a new project. 250 newt embryos later, her thesis was a masterpiece in the field of experimental embryology, a ground-breaking and Nobel-prize winning finding that has dictated our view of life at the cellular level almost a century later. Sadly, Mangold would die in a house fire before seeing the publication and impact of her thesis work, leaving Spemann a Nobel on a silver platter.

• The Nobel-winning paper: Spemann, H. & Mangold, H., Roux' Arch. Entw. Mech., 1924.

For your information:
A review of the history and development of the Spemann-Mangold experiment can be found here.
Here is a nice blog post by Ellen Elliott of the JAX lab.