Scientists say they have found the part of the brain that makes us feel miserable, anxious and stressed. A British research company called Heptares Therapeutics has located the molecule related to depression. It is a protein of the brain called CRF1. The protein is important in controlling the body's response to stress and is linked to stress-related diseases such as depression and anxiety. The team used a super-powerful x-ray machine in its research. Lead researcher Fiona Marshall said this greater understanding could lead to ground-breaking drugs to control depression.

Britain's National Health Service (NHS) warned sufferers of depression or related illnesses not to get too excited about this research. It questioned whether just one molecule could really lead to depression, which, it said, resulted from a complex interaction of chemicals. The NHS was surprised at how two of Britain's biggest newspapers built the story up. "The Sunday Times" reported that researchers had found the "miserable molecule," saying it was "the protein involved in all our feelings of stress". The NHS said: "It's a great headline, but a hugely sweeping claim."