#DeSci has been very popular lately, but many projects claim to be DAO, yet they are not truly DeSci projects, so it’s important to differentiate and discern! 👇 This article was written prior to Binance's investment in BIO Protocol; it serves as a launch pool platform for #DeSci DAO projects, which is quite interesting. Although it hasn't launched a token yet, I have already participated in the first and second rounds, where funding for some niche diseases and women's health projects is worthy of social attention.
Today, I will summarize some materials to talk about what DeSci is, what problems DeSci solves in traditional scientific research, and which mainstream projects currently exist.
#DeSci (decentralized science) derives its name from #DeFi (decentralized finance). The contribution of DeFi to Web3 from the last cycle to this one cannot be underestimated; whether in the previously hot derivatives track or the current RWA, they are essentially extensions of DeFi, accelerating the transformation and prosperity of traditional finance, providing significant innovation and momentum.
With the dual backing of CZ and Vitalik, decentralized science is not limited to life sciences but also includes AI science, physics, zoology, and many other fields of science. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, science encompasses any knowledge system related to the physical world and its phenomena, requiring objective observation and systematic experimentation. Generally, science involves the pursuit of knowledge that encompasses universal truths or fundamental laws.
Currently, the broad scientific endeavor can be broken down into stages and general tasks. The process mainly starts with generating knowledge and obtaining funding. The main products of science are knowledge, publications, and intellectual property. To apply knowledge to real-world practice, scientific ideas must be validated or tested through models and then ultimately put into practice. Thus, funding, knowledge, and intellectual property are three key points of traditional science and the sources of its core pain points.
DeSci supports the financial independence of the scientific field and the open-source nature of intellectual property through the Web3 + DAO model.
Before understanding the advantages of #Desci, it's important to know some pain points in the current research field:
1. Research funding. Especially in the fields of biomedicine and materials science, research funding is often directly related to commercialization. If the research direction has no commercial realization value, it will be difficult to obtain funding. Additionally, scientists find it very challenging, slow, and bureaucratic to raise research funds in the traditional system. This process is highly specific and complex. It is worth noting that it diverts scientists' attention from scientific research, as they have to spend more time writing grant applications. There are also issues regarding the value of research outputs and the unfriendly environment for young scientists.
2. Issues with review committees and publishers: Currently, publishing a paper in (Nature) magazine costs over $11,000, and review committees are limited by their own research depth and some non-transparent processes, leading to selection bias.
3. Ownership of intellectual property. Scientists generally have little understanding of commercial intellectual property and often delegate it to organizations like Technology Transfer Offices (TTOs). Due to the reasons for applying for provisional patents, this ultimately leads to disputes over intellectual property rights.
4. Open access to research, although science is a microcosm of a global public good meant to benefit all humanity, most academic journals and research data are currently not publicly available, often requiring high fees and layers of authorization.
5. Collaboration and communication. Due to reliance on institutions and their funding, scientists lack transparency and are isolated within an organization, with no real possibility for global collaboration. Communication is one of the major issues faced by scientists in the existing scientific system. How to regularly communicate with other experts in the field before conducting experiments or publishing research papers has been a persistent problem.
#Desci's advantages:
The DeSci movement aims to create an ecosystem that motivates scientists to conduct and share their research transparently while receiving recognition for their work, allowing anyone to easily access research and contribute to it. In other words, it legitimizes the work of practitioners while attracting more talent to join as a DAO of like-minded individuals.
The DeSci movement is still in its infancy, with the idea that scientific knowledge should be open to everyone and disseminated fairly and justly. Collaborative research, its peer review, and publication processes should be transparent and simple, thereby improving research quality, allowing scientists to fully pursue their curiosity and generate knowledge that can be used for the benefit of humanity.
Using Web3 technology, DeSci proposes a more decentralized research and commercialization model that makes it more resistant to censorship and the influence and control of institutions and publishers. It creates an environment where funding (from DAOs, secondary donations to crowdfunding, etc.), research data and methods, scientific tools, and communication channels can be obtained in a decentralized and diversified manner, allowing new and unconventional ideas to thrive. DeSci promotes open science, encourages citizen science, and creates incentives for scientists and the public.
#Desci's core practice areas are likely to explode into billion-dollar projects:
1. #Desci funding model. Projects like BIO Protocol (@bioprotocol) select some outstanding scientific projects every term, establish DAO models, and provide public fundraising + funding plans, similar to crowdfunding but entirely on-chain, more transparent and Web3. This is a great start to provide fundraising for excellent scientific projects. Currently, some traditional web2 crowdfunding platforms, such as #Kickstarter and #GoFundMe, are valued at several billion dollars. These Web3 platforms have even greater potential.
2. #Desci review and publication model. Projects like arXiv (@arxiv_terminal) and #RSC (@ResearchHub) aim to completely open-source scientific publications, rather than being limited by intermediaries and academic publishers. However, arXiv's shortcomings lie in that it hasn't established a quality review mechanism for papers; it merely provides a platform for public release without assessing the quality of the papers.
Emerging Web3 solutions carry the mission to change this situation. On one hand, blockchain, as a decentralized and immutable public ledger, provides transparency. Communications surrounding articles can be recorded on the blockchain, thus freely accessible. On the other hand, with DAOs, the selection of reviewers will no longer depend solely on editors but can be collectively approved. Additionally, tokens and NFTs can be used to incentivize the scientific community to share, review, and manage different types of information sources. This can enable knowledge sharing and new models for rapid research publication and review, which are crucial for decentralized science. The Ants-Review: Incentivized open peer review protocol on Ethereum is worth noting!
3. Intellectual property and commercial realization
Web3 has inherent advantages for asset confirmation. The ownership of digital assets (such as scientific data or research papers) is where Web3 excels.
In the DeSci ecosystem, various aspects of science, such as peer review of scientific papers, intellectual property, and reputation systems, can be managed by independent decentralized professional communities. This reduces the risk of dominance by a single institution and helps future-oriented science resist rapidly changing technologies and emerging threats. With the help of DAOs and NFTs, DeSci enables communities to become new stakeholders in scientific knowledge (for example, through IP-NFTs that can be owned by a DAO). Additionally, the value generated by these assets can be used to fund the creation of new knowledge, establishing a self-sustaining scientific ecosystem.
The IP-NFT protocol developed by #Molecule is worth noting, as it addresses the entire chain of business value returning to the DAO, from DAO funding programs to IP intellectual property realization, achieving a fully on-chain traceable, authorized, and certified system. In this area, #VitaDAO (@vita_dao) has done an excellent on-chain practice.
4. Reputation verification system
In the current traditional research field, determining whether a scientist is outstanding enough to receive research funding mainly relies on diplomas, published papers, awards, and other core evaluation indicators. In a Web3 scenario, digital reputation is crucial. Scientists can earn SBT, NFTs, and POAP for all activities deemed valuable by the research community, including peer review, teaching, mentoring, and data sharing. Token collections can serve as verifiable digital reputations for contributions, further encouraging such behavior. In this way, scientists and individual groups (such as decentralized labs) with shared wallets can create reputations for themselves. Reputation is directly linked to research funding, which will be very clever, and here SBT (soul-bound tokens) will be crucial; these types of projects are also worth noting. The #LIT (@litentry) project listed on Binance suggests you might consider this logic and idea, which could possibly drive the market.
5. Research information storage
Whether it’s AI or #Desci, storage always seems to be an unavoidable necessity. The concept of permanent storage in Web3, accessible anytime and anywhere, with anti-censorship mechanisms, naturally aligns with the logic of #Desci. Classic storage projects like #FIL, #AR, and #Storj are all worth paying attention to.
6. Data processing
How to safely and efficiently adopt research data and medical data, achieve data sharing, and balance the interests and needs of all parties. Current scientific research often requires collaboration among laboratories from multiple countries, involving various parameters and studies. This data needs to be co-created and shared under a confidential status, and the #Desci field also involves issues of data ownership and value realization. In this area, #DATALAKE (@DataLakeToken) has been deeply engaged for many years and deserves attention.
Some related #Desci project introductions:
1. DeSci Academy is enabling non-technical users to enter the field of science to nurture the next generation of scientists. The team seeks and trains passionate, motivated, and curious individuals who want to contribute to science but lack credentials.
2. DeSci Africa (@DeSciAfrica) is a non-profit organization aimed at supporting African scientists through decentralized science. The team's goal is to redistribute funding to research conducted by African scientists and laboratories while creating outreach and knowledge channels for newcomers to Web3.
3. DeSci Foundation (@DesciFoundation) is an independent think tank composed of top scientists and Web3 pioneers dedicated to exploring the potential of applying Web3 technology to the scientific ecosystem. The mission is to bring together scientists and Web3 pioneers to support initiatives that could improve scientific progress and create new methods to support high-quality scientific funding and incentivize high-quality, replicable science.
4. Buidlbox (@buidlbox) is an ecosystem that integrates and promotes the synergy of decentralized scientific actions to expand the possibilities of collaboration in various science-related programs. Publishing scientific papers and sharing economic benefits from editorial work remains one of the important components of this project.
5. Gridcoin (@GridcoinNetwork) is a science-centric blockchain that uses a minting protocol and fee-based mechanisms to incentivize contributions to distributed computing projects (on the BOINC network) that engage in scientific research across various fields, raise funds for research, and verify publication ownership.
6. SCINET (@SCINET_INC) is a decentralized life sciences research and investment platform that fundamentally changes how people conduct and support science. Supported by blockchain technology, SCINET allows retail and institutional investors to invest directly in life sciences research and technology in a secure and authentic manner.
In addition, there are various independent research DAO organizations:
1. #AntidoteDAO is a selfless Web3 DAO dedicated to funding various cancer programs.
2. #AthenaDAO is a decentralized collective aimed at funding women's reproductive health research and drug discovery.
3. #FutureFoodsDAO is a community-owned fund for early-stage alternative protein open-source research. The project aims to identify and fund the most promising foundational alternative protein research.
4. #CherubsDAO is a collective investment funded by NFTs and managed by a DAO, aimed at accelerating solutions and treatments for Alzheimer's disease, as well as promoting brain health and longevity. 80% of the funds are allocated for return on investment and impact, while 20% is used to fund junior research grants.
5. #CRISPRDAO is establishing a decentralized organization to fund cutting-edge CRISPR research to advance potential therapies and agricultural technology solutions.
6. #CrunchDAO is a DAO where scientists utilize collective intelligence to solve complex problems. It focuses on quantitative finance, using DeSci as a tool to coordinate its members.
7. #CureDAO is an alliance of digital health innovators dedicated to maximizing the reduction of suffering in the universe by accelerating clinical discovery. This is accomplished through community-owned collaborative rewards rather than competition. The ultimate outcome is discovering how millions of factors (such as food, drugs, and supplements) affect human health.
8. #DeNatureDAO is a decentralized science DAO aimed at empowering STEM innovators using blockchain technology.
9. #DeSciWorldDAO aims to connect decentralized communities and the scientific community to further realize the mission of decentralized science. The DAO coordinates financial expenditures and future development goals.
10. #GenomesDAO is dedicated to meeting the growing expectations of research organizations, institutions, and clients regarding the security of genomic data and the quality of research workflows. To enhance the democratization and decentralization of genomic research, they focus on combining cutting-edge technologies like AMD's SEV, blockchain, and decentralized finance. They collaborate with Nebula Genomics to sequence your genome and securely store the sequencing data.
11. #HairDAO is a decentralized autonomous organization dedicated to finding treatments for hair loss. Hair loss remains one of the most common diseases globally: 80% of men and 50% of women will experience significant hair loss in their lifetime, with over 95% of cases caused by androgenetic alopecia (male and female pattern baldness).
12. #LoveHealth and #LoveDAO represent a human-centered decentralized approach to pharmaceuticals. Through Love DAO, community members can submit clinical trial proposals and share profits when treatments are initiated.
In summary: Currently, #Desci is very popular, but true #Desci projects are few and far between; many just claim to be so. While meme hype is one thing, understanding the concepts is essential to remain invincible (I personally don't like to associate serious scientific topics with memes). #Desci is still in its early stages, with the biggest pain point being the long monetization cycle, which cannot create an explosive and sustainable positive flywheel effect immediately like DEFI. Moreover, science is very costly, and whether there are enough big players continually investing in the #Desci field while yielding little or nothing over several years or even decades remains to be verified. However, I will invest on a small scale to try; embracing new things is still a positive approach!
