Problem Definition & Impact - Overuse of the term "depression" trivializes the condition, hindering innovation in treatments and diagnostics [3] - Depression is a major public health crisis, affecting over 300 million people globally as of 2025 [4] - Depression is the leading cause of disability, exceeding that caused by cancers, diabetes, heart disease, and strokes combined [5] - Depression drains up to $925 billion from the global economy annually due to lost productivity [6] - Depression is a leading cause of suicide, resulting in over 800,000 deaths per year, approximately one life lost every 40 seconds [6] Current Treatment Limitations - Current diagnostic methods for depression rely on subjective assessments, leading to inaccuracies of 30-50% [10] - Existing treatments primarily address the effects of depression rather than the root cause [11][12] - A recent meta-analysis study finds that serotonin had little to no impact on the development of depression [11] Research & Potential Solutions - Research indicates that depression is linked to changes in gene expression levels, affecting how brain cells grow, communicate, and respond to stress [13][15] - The research identified a potential genetic biomarker for depression and used machine learning to diagnose depression based on gene expression levels with 93% accuracy [16][17] - The research created the chemical composition of a drug against depression using a molecular docking software, proving effective at addressing the problem on a molecular level [17][18]