Self-Organization Göttingen Germany

1 On the Marangoni Flow and the Importance of the Phenomenon The Marangoni effect is the flow of a liquid driven by gradients in surface tension. A classic and visually striking example is the “wine tears” phenomenon: when wine is swirled in a glass, a thin film climbs the inner wall, and droplets form and roll back down due to surface tension differences created by alcohol evaporation (Figure 1).

Key Points Multiple sclerosis and major depressive disorder have been associated with increased expression of FGF9 in affected brain regions. We now report FGF9 is neurotoxic, as it rapidly down-regulates neuronal gene networks required to maintain synaptic function and axonal transport and compromises the survival of post-mitotic neurons. FGF9 overexpression in the rat cortex initiates primary neurodegeneration and ensuing myelin loss in vivo.