Decentralized science (DeSci) innovates the ways in which funding, data sharing, publication of papers, and scientific collaboration occur through blockchain and decentralized mechanisms. Projects like VitaDAO, AthenaDAO, and GenomesDAO are representative projects driving the development of the DeSci concept.
Author: Hans Be
Translation: Plain Language Blockchain
What is decentralized science (DeSci)? Decentralized science (DeSci) refers to the use of blockchain technology and its related functionalities, such as tokens, NFTs, and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), to promote openness, incentivization, and community-driven collaboration in scientific research. Through DeSci, researchers can share data, publish papers, and obtain funding without traditional intermediaries, thus fostering transparency and innovative development in science.
As many revolutions are driven by technology, and most topics discussed by CoinGecko often revolve around decentralized systems, the scientific field is also set to undergo similar transformations—transformations that will change the way research, publication, funding, and collaboration occur, attempting to provide solutions to many issues in the scientific domain. In this article, we will explore this relatively new concept: decentralized science (DeSci), and delve into representative projects with ambitious goals in this field.
1, What is decentralized science (DeSci)?
In an interview, Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin described decentralized science (DeSci), which he believes aims to answer:
'What emerging open decentralized technologies can make science better?'
This phrase encapsulates the core idea of decentralized science.
Before delving deeper, let's set aside the various popular terms related to blockchain and focus on the primary application scenario of decentralized blockchain technology, which is to improve systemic issues in scientific research, promote better collaboration, and enhance funding efficiency.
1) DeSci: A Broad Concept
DeSci, or Decentralized Science, is a broad concept encompassing many dynamic approaches and subjects aimed at democratizing scientific research and discovery. It involves not only blockchain-based projects but also various forms of advancing scientific progress through emerging technologies like DAOs and Web3.
The Issues of Traditional Science and the 'Valley of Death'
In the traditional scientific field, the 'valley of death' is a commonly used metaphor referring to the critical stage between basic scientific research and the successful development of innovations that benefit patients. At this stage, many studies are stalled due to a lack of funding, resources, and effective collaboration.
To cross this 'valley of death', we need a whole new, more effective approach. Blockchain technology, with its decentralized, transparent, and community-driven characteristics, is expected to play an important role in this process. The following sections will analyze specific problems in traditional science and explore how decentralized science can mitigate these challenges through innovative solutions.
There are many areas in the scientific field that urgently need innovation, and beyond the solutions currently being offered by many DeSci projects, there may be more branches that need upgrading in the future.
Currently, the key areas of focus in decentralized science primarily include:
A, Data Sharing: Overcoming traditional, outdated data-sharing systems to improve traceability, ownership, and sovereignty of data. This helps ensure the transparency and accuracy of research data and promotes broader collaboration.
B, Research and Publishing: A revolutionary transformation of the research and publishing processes. Traditional publishing models have been a focal point of criticism in the scientific community for their high costs, long peer review times, and lack of transparency. DeSci aims to improve these issues through decentralized platforms, enhancing the accessibility and fairness of academic outputs.
C, Financing: With the rise of borderless and immutable fundraising methods driven by cryptocurrencies, scientific research has welcomed a new crowdfunding model. This new funding method can help more research projects obtain the necessary financial support without relying on traditional government and institutional funding, significantly broadening the sources of research funding.
According to Messari's overview of DeSci projects
In the following sections, we will focus on some projects that consider themselves part of decentralized science (DeSci), many of which identify as decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs).
2) Research and Publishing
One of the biggest challenges facing traditional science is that anyone involved will deeply feel that a multitude of requirements must be met even before research begins and before research results reach the publication stage. Here are some challenges:
Peer Review Issues Peer review is an indispensable part of scientific research, but it often brings limited value and significantly slows the dissemination of new findings. Peer review can not only create a false impression of quality assurance but in some cases, it even requires positive reviews to ensure research can be published.
Intellectual Property Another complex factor is intellectual property (IP) protection, such as patents, which can hinder the open sharing of information and slow scientific progress. Many universities view patents as a potential source of revenue and implement strict policies to manage the use of any 'proprietary' work.
Gatekeepers In addition to various restrictions in the research process, the publishing field faces similar barriers. Even if scientists are willing to make their research findings public, academic journals still control whether the research can be published. Journals, as the primary 'gatekeepers' of research, often prioritize their commercial objectives over promoting open science.
High Costs Many academic journals have been criticized by the academic community for their exorbitant open access publishing fees, accused of having unethical profit levels that even exceed those of some tech giants.
The income of these 'gatekeepers' largely comes from the unpaid labor of the academic community— including the work of reviewing and writing research papers, which is often supported by public and charitable funding. Are we really going to let this continue? This could prevent some life-changing discoveries from being published.
3) Applications of Blockchain Solutions in Scientific Research and Publishing
This leads to a discussion on how blockchain technology can provide solutions to improve scientific research and publishing.
A, Open Science - Decentralization
Decentralization of the existing centralized structures and their issues is necessary. This is a (more) open science approach, where platforms redefine themselves to become open collections that focus on open sharing, and peer review should not cause unnecessary delays.
This new system can recognize multiple forms of scientific contributions beyond journal publishing, as many breakthroughs in scientific history have come from those outside the scientific establishment. These opposing viewpoints have challenged mainstream scientific thinking and provided us with new perspectives.
ResearchHub: A Crypto-Driven Scientific Discussion Platform
ResearchHub is a platform aimed at promoting collaborative open science models, where researchers can share their favorite research articles, discover new papers, and engage with the scientific community.
Their ultimate goal is to become the preferred platform for scientific discussion, rewarding contributors through incentive mechanisms, thereby accelerating scientific breakthroughs. The project is supported by Coinbase founder Brian Armstrong, who is passionate about solving the world's biggest problems through technology. His enthusiasm even led him to sell 2% of his shares in Coinbase to fund ResearchHub—a true philanthropist!
The incentive mechanism is conducted through the ResearchCoin (RSC) Token, which is a community reward token and the currency of ResearchHub. Users can earn RSC by actively participating in platform activities, such as uploading papers, commenting, creating posts, etc.
In addition, users can also earn RSC through contributions deemed valuable by other users. Additionally, bounty tasks can be created for community members, and completing specific tasks will also yield RSC rewards.
B, Tokenization of Intellectual Property – IP-NFTs
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have the potential to radically change the ownership and management of intellectual property, allowing creators and researchers to gain control and monetization opportunities instead of being controlled by institutions that publish research.
They can represent unique digital assets such as research papers, patents, datasets, and code, and can be used to prove ownership; all information can be verified on the blockchain. Transparency is key, and the peer review process can also be fully tracked, including reviewers and published comments.
4) Funding Issues in Traditional Science
The funding application process in traditional science is lengthy and complex, filled with administrative issues and regulations imposed by different institutions that may require more updates and improvements.
A, A Large Number of Grant Applications
In traditional academia, applying for grants requires writing a large number of applications and listing many tasks in advance. This lengthy pre-publication work can stifle risk-taking and innovation. More importantly, researchers often need to cater to the interests of potential funders to secure funding.
B, Asymmetry of Interests
There is a high concentration of top contributors, while the private sector is the largest source of most funding; this conflict of interest is unavoidable and often skews research results in favor of the funders' interests.
C, Lack of Incentive Mechanisms
Furthermore, we observe that scientists do not receive adequate rewards, and practices such as transparency, replicating others' work, and high-risk/innovative ideas are not sufficiently incentivized, which may lead to many valuable directions being unexplored and many opportunities being missed.
5) Blockchain Solutions to Funding Issues in the Scientific Field
Now, let's look at some blockchain-based solutions that address funding challenges in the scientific field.
A, Fundraising Through Tokenization
As mentioned earlier, IP-NFTs can represent ownership of intellectual property and also raise funds for projects. Scientists can sell their IP-NFTs to investors, who can benefit from the income generated from the intellectual property. By tokenizing intellectual property, it can help bring liquidity to the early development phase, crossing the 'valley of death' barrier.
Molecule Protocol: Science and Intellectual Property NFTs
Molecule is a platform that bridges the gap between biomedical research projects and the funding they require. It primarily serves two types of users: researchers and investors.
Researchers with specific research goals, projects, or ideas can find various types of investors, ranging from traditional pharmaceutical venture capital firms to patient advocacy groups and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs).
Molecule's goal is to provide IP-NFT legal frameworks, organizational templates, funding, talent, and other resources to builders of biotechnology DAOs. DAOs funded by patients and researchers for specific diseases can shorten feedback cycles.
B, Non-Fungible Tokens for Intellectual Property (IP-NFT)
The platform will use IP-NFTs, which are similar to standard NFTs as they manage ownership of specific assets and serve as a key to underlying projects. For example, if a research project generates a dataset or obtains a patent, the IP-NFT can access these data stored in a decentralized data storage system. This also allows for the trading of intellectual property.
C, Venture Capital Funding
Fundraising through tokenization not only brings liquidity upfront and alters short-term risk allocation but also enables ongoing fundraising or assessing earlier whether a project is worth pursuing.
This different risk allocation means that different types of investors and capital scales can participate. Anyone can fund and drive innovation in its earliest stages. This resembles the model of venture capital or startup funding.
For instance, we saw Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin donate $1.5 billion in SHIB to Crypto Relief India in 2021. The fund currently has over $200 million, primarily in USDC. The rapid distribution of this funding relies on the support of blockchain technology.
Source: 0x68A99f89E475a078645f4BAC491360aFe255Dff1
2, Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs)
The aforementioned issues and challenges are often systemic problems. Bureaucratic inertia prolongs processes, and the imbalance of incentives in project control means that if we want different results, we must change these control methods.
Decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) represent a broad set of projects and innovative solutions that have unique capabilities to allocate funds and control processes.
This new type of decentralized organization provides a platform for like-minded individuals and can be led by experts when assessing funding proposals. Governance proposals from the scientific community will be decided through on-chain voting.
When discussing the decentralized scientific ecosystem, it is essential to mention many DAOs that carry the new DeSci narrative, where interoperability between DAOs is the rule rather than the exception.
1) VitaDAO
VitaDAO is the first collective funding early-stage longevity research, aiming to extend healthy life and health span by raising funds for early research projects and incubating startups for commercialization. It has raised $4.1 million, supported by Pfizer and former Coinbase CTO Balaji Srinivasan.
One of the most important trends is the decentralization and popularization of emerging therapies in the biotechnology sector. VitaDAO aims to decentralize these assets, making them widely accessible to people around the world.
Over the past few decades, the biopharmaceutical system has largely been monopolized by pharmaceutical companies through patents. If led by VitaDAO, this status quo will change, as they challenge the monopoly of the traditional biopharmaceutical system by decentralizing the acquisition of intellectual property and democratizing its ownership.
2) Athena DAO: A Research Center Focused on Women's Health
Women's health research is underfunded. In fact, issues related to menopause and its symptoms do not appear in the global disease burden databases, which track the leading causes of death and disability. This indicates a lack of sufficient research and appropriate solutions for women's health issues, which could have serious consequences.
Athena DAO's mission is to change the landscape of women's health research. A global decentralized community is needed to drive critical shifts in the understanding and treatment of women's unique health needs and diseases.
Athena DAO is evaluating treatments, computational models, and research projects related to ovarian aging, menopause, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), endometriosis, uterine fibroids, and more.
3) Valley DAO: Solutions in Synthetic Biology for Climate Change
ValleyDAO is a community of scientists, entrepreneurs, and enthusiasts aiming to make synthetic biology— a field with tremendous potential in addressing global sustainability challenges—more accessible.
By engineering new biological systems and modifying existing ones, synthetic biology can tackle challenges in climate change, disease, food, and energy production. For example, developing new sustainable energy sources, creating bacteria that can clean up pollution, and growing crops with higher nutritional value.
4) Bio.xyz: DeSci DAO Accelerator
Bio.xyz is an accelerator that supports multiple previously mentioned DAO projects, such as VitaDAO, ValleyDAO, and AthenaDAO. This means that these DAOs can obtain generated tokens through token auctions on Bio.xyz's Launchpad platform.
Individuals wishing to apply for BioDAO launch must submit applications, which will undergo thorough review. Once successful applicants are selected, they will receive the first funding from BioDAO based on their completion of necessary milestones. Non-DAO participants can also participate in real-time auctions, ensuring they have sufficient balance in their wallets to bid, monitor auction progress, and claim token distributions.
5) Genomes DAO
GenomesDAO is based on the belief that everyone should own their genome. Their goal is to establish the world's largest user-owned genome database and share it with the public, organizations, and researchers. It aims to meet the growing expectations of research institutions, organizations, and customers regarding the safety of genomic data and the quality of research workflows.
Data is securely stored in users' personal DNA vaults, and users can control it through the Genomes mobile app. Researchers from pharmaceutical/biotech companies and academia can easily query the database to help understand the causes of diseases and develop new drugs without infringing on individuals' privacy or ownership.
How to get DNA sequencing on Genomes? Get your DNA sequenced through Genomes.io:
Click 'Get DNA Sequenced' and log in.
Select a sequencing provider and order a kit.
Use the code in the kit to activate it online.
Download the Genomes.io app.
Scan the QR code on the kit activation page.
Follow the instructions to complete the process.
The integration of DAOs in scientific research can not only democratize decision-making but also pave the way for more collaborative and open scientific research, representing a revolutionary step forward.
6) INNBC: Innovative Biological Research Coin
INNBC has published peer-reviewed papers on the application of blockchain technology in scientific research. The study involves the decentralization of biomedical data storage and sharing, and how characteristics like immutability, timestamps, and identity can ensure the permanent availability of data, provide proof of existence, and protect authors' rights.
3, What is the Future of Decentralized Science (DeSci)?
The future of decentralized science is unfolding rapidly, with much debate surrounding its efficacy and necessity. Some believe it will promote inclusivity and freedom in scientific research, while others worry it may face strong opposition from traditional academia and big pharmaceutical companies, which often become 'too big to fail' with the help of regulators.
The future of decentralized science holds enormous potential; if implemented correctly and cautiously, it could give rise to a new economic and social system that redefines the priorities of progress and profit.
4, Conclusion
The combination of blockchain technology and science offers a compelling path to addressing systemic challenges like the 'valley of death', such as inefficient peer review, intellectual property disputes, and funding barriers.
Perhaps, DAOs have the potential to transform the monopoly of the pharmaceutical industry into a collaborative community, optimizing capital and labor for the benefit of patients. While this field is still in its early stages, it represents an exciting new frontier for decentralized science.
However, we should not overlook that decentralized science will be based on the general mechanisms of blockchain technology, but this does not mean it must be limited to blockchain, as the answers will depend on how these technologies and methods advance scientific methodology and in which aspects they play a role.
Note: The information in this article is for educational reference only and should not be considered financial or investment advice. Always conduct your own research before investing in any protocol or token.
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