Original Title: Decentralised Science (DeSci) - Why and How?
Original Authors: Anthony Chan, Shubham Kumar
Original Source: https://v3locity.capital/writing/decentralised-science-de-sci-why-and-how
Compiled by: Tom, Mars Finance
Original Title: Decentralized Science (DeSci) — Why and How?
Introduction
Throughout the lifecycle of scientific research, many obstacles are often encountered. Take the lengthy and costly process of bringing a new drug to market as an example—it is fraught with failures: 95% of drugs entering human trials fail, with average R&D costs exceeding $2 billion and taking more than 13 years! Additionally, the funding model for academic research often favors senior researchers, leaving innovative and unconventional projects underfunded. Coupled with the pressure to publish papers or research results, this may lead to over-interpretation, irreproducibility, and systemic unfairness, making it difficult for the research needs of minority groups to be adequately represented. These systemic issues indicate that we need innovative ways to equalize access to research funding, promote collaboration, and maintain the integrity of scientific research. This article will focus on two questions: (1) Why is DeSci necessary, and (2) How can it solve these problems?
What is DeSci?
Decentralized science (DeSci) is an emerging movement that leverages blockchain technology to address core challenges in the scientific field, such as funding shortages, lack of transparency, and poor collaboration. By utilizing decentralized technologies like tokens, NFTs, and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), DeSci aims to construct a more open, community-driven, and incentivized model of scientific research. It promotes transparent funding models, peer review processes, and data sharing by removing traditional 'gatekeepers.' Projects like VitaDAO, Molecule, and AminoChain are demonstrating how decentralized platforms can reshape the funding, execution, and dissemination of scientific research, bridging the gap between basic research and clinical applications while ensuring ownership and transparency in data management processes.
Problem Statement
1. Inefficient Research Funding
The current research funding system is inefficient, with researchers spending nearly 80% of their time applying for funds, leaving only 20% for actual research. Imagine if software developers spent most of their time fundraising instead of writing code; technological progress would inevitably slow down significantly, which is exactly the impact caused by the outdated processes facing today's research innovation.
For early-career researchers, the challenges are particularly pronounced, as senior scientists often receive the majority of funding and resources. This trend stifles novel and unconventional ideas and limits research opportunities in underdeveloped regions. Moreover, the centralized, competitive, and relatively conservative funding system tends to favor conventional and ordinary topics rather than truly impactful directions.
2. Outdated research infrastructure and fragmented data management systems
The main challenges facing the scientific research ecosystem are outdated infrastructure and fragmented data management systems. Platforms like GitHub (for code) and Dropbox (for data) often create their own 'data silos,' limiting collaboration; many databases also fail to meet the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) principles, leading to as much as 80% of data being lost within 20 years due to issues like broken links. Furthermore, intellectual property (IP) is often controlled by institutions rather than the researchers themselves, resulting in scientists losing control over their research outcomes when transitioning to new jobs, with early data and informal collaborations lacking protection. Coupled with many incompatible systems and outdated tools like fax machines, these factors hinder research collaboration, impede AI-driven research processes, and slow down scientific innovation.
3. Lack of Incentives for Reproducibility and Peer Review, with No Compensation
Reproducibility is crucial for validating scientific discoveries but is often neglected as journals focus more on novel findings. This has led to the so-called 'reproducibility crisis,' with an estimated 70% of published research unable to be replicated. Furthermore, scientists receive no compensation for their time spent on peer review, which is estimated to be worth $1.5 billion annually, while the peer review process itself often lacks transparency and fairness. Only by solving the issue of incentive compatibility can the overall efficiency and effectiveness of scientific research be improved.
4. Oligopolistic Control of Academic Publishing
Globally, academic publishing is primarily controlled by five major publishers, who hold nearly 50% of the market share, generating $19 billion annually with profit margins as high as 40%. This oligopolistic structure positions publishers as 'gatekeepers,' often prioritizing profit over academic value. The high costs of publishing papers—typically ranging from $2,000 to $12,000 per article—deter underfunded researchers, especially in developing countries.
From an access perspective, the price for a single article can reach up to $35 to $50, further limiting access to critical knowledge. These high costs and stringent policies exacerbate the inequality of knowledge sharing, amplifying the advantages of wealthy institutions and regions, while excluding underfunded scientists and communities.
5. 'Valley of Death'
The traditional drug development process is both time-consuming and extremely expensive, often requiring 10 to 13 years and over $2 billion to bring a new drug to market, with companies usually working in isolation rather than collaborating in a globally interconnected market, leading to redundant investments and missed opportunities for collaborative innovation, such as adopting unified approaches to tackling diseases like cancer.
A crucial barrier in this process is the 'Valley of Death,' the stage between basic research and commercialization. Many promising projects require significant funding to scale at this stage but face a substantial drop in financing. With 95% of drugs failing in human trials, this funding gap remains a significant obstacle hindering many major innovations from reaching the market, depriving people of the benefits.
6. Biomedical research suffers from a lack of patient-centered models and insufficient data privacy.
Every year, thousands of people donate biological samples for medical research, but the current system disconnects them from the subsequent use of their samples after donation. Donors typically just sign consent forms and never learn how their samples are used, which undermines trust among research participants and lowers participation rates; in some large institutions, the consent rate is as low as 25%. Centralized systems exacerbate the problem, lacking both tracking of specific sample usage and proper donor consent management. Additionally, centralized systems pose risks of data breaches, threatening sensitive information. The lack of transparency and security not only limits the availability of high-quality data but also slows down the research process, hindering the development of life-saving therapies.
Solution
Decentralized science (DeSci) aims to provide solutions to the major challenges faced by the traditional scientific research ecosystem through blockchain technology, decentralized networks, and new incentive mechanisms. These solutions aim to enhance accessibility, transparency, funding mechanisms, and collaborative efforts in science. Below is an overview of how DeSci helps the research community address critical issues:
1. DAO: Empowering Collaborative Governance in Science
Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) provide a decentralized, community-driven funding and decision-making framework for scientific research. By democratizing resource allocation, DAOs allow scientists, investors, and other stakeholders to propose projects and vote on them, fostering a collaborative and transparent research environment.
Real-World Cases
As a decentralized platform, BIO Protocol helps the community fund scientific research and accelerate research progress. Through blockchain technology, BIO supports the creation and funding of decentralized scientific organizations called BioDAOs. These DAOs focus on specific medical challenges, aggregating resources and expertise to drive innovation.
Notable Success Cases
HairDAO: Developed the consumer product Follicool for hair loss issues and holds patents owned by the DAO.
CerebrumDAO: Raised $1.5 million to advance brain health research in collaboration with Fission Pharma to address neurodegenerative diseases.
ValleyDAO: Focused on synthetic biology, raised $2 million and collaborated with Imperial College London.
AthenaDAO: Focused on women's health research, funded $500,000 for projects, with 14 intellectual property transactions currently underway.
CryoDAO: Raised $3 million to advance cryobiology research in collaboration with the Oxford Cryo Technology team.
Quantum Biology DAO: Led by MIT Ph.D. researchers, exploring quantum microscopy to open new possibilities for scientific research.
Long COVID Labs: Led by neuroscientists from Stanford University, accelerating research on long COVID, a disease affecting millions globally.
2. Decentralized, Persistent, and Accessible Research Data
DeSci platforms provide researchers with a secure and decentralized way to store data, manuscripts, and research materials. Leveraging blockchain technology, these platforms can ensure the long-term accessibility of research data, avoiding issues of 'broken links'. For example, platforms like DeSci Nodes offer decentralized storage, ensuring research outcomes can be accessed permanently and immutably.
Additionally, DeSci platforms are often based on FAIR data principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable). This means that each dataset includes detailed metadata explaining how the data was produced, facilitating other researchers to quickly locate and reuse it. Incorporating FAIR principles into DeSci not only enhances the accessibility of scientific data but also promotes collaboration, reducing redundant research.
3. Providing Incentives for Reproducibility and Peer Review: Tackling the Reproducibility Challenge
One of the major challenges currently facing the scientific field is the 'reproducibility crisis', with many studies failing to be verified again. DeSci addresses this issue by providing rewards to scientists conducting reproducibility experiments or peer reviews. For instance, the ResearchHub platform, supported by Coinbase founder Brian Armstrong, uses tokens to reward scientists for verifying research results, providing feedback, and participating in peer review.
This mechanism incentivizes researchers to repeatedly verify existing conclusions and ensures that published research results are more reliable. By encouraging collaboration and transparency, DeSci helps address this long-standing issue within the traditional scientific system.
4. Open Access and Programmatic Publishing
DeSci platforms eliminate the paywall restrictions of traditional publishers by providing scientists with open access options. For example, DeSci Publish allows researchers to upload and disseminate their research for free, avoiding high publication fees to ensure that research outcomes can reach a wider audience and have a greater impact. Additionally, programmatic publishing speeds up the process from research to publication by automating tasks such as manuscript submission, formatting, peer review coordination, metadata creation, revision tracking, and paper distribution, reducing the administrative burden on researchers so they can focus more on their research work.
Real-World Cases
Etica Protocol is a decentralized science (DeSci) initiative that completely revolutionizes medical research by eliminating intellectual property (IP) restrictions and encouraging open-source collaboration. The protocol was officially launched in April 2022, based on blockchain technology, allowing researchers to freely share results and gain economic returns throughout the research process. By bypassing traditional patent systems and restrictive licenses, Etica establishes a fair and efficient framework that not only accelerates innovation but also ensures that medical treatments remain affordable and accessible to more people.
Key Features
Decentralized Proposals: Researchers submit proposals related to specific diseases, evaluated by community voting on the blockchain.
Staking and Voting: Token holders stake Etica tokens (ETI) to vote, receiving rewards for correct votes and penalties for incorrect votes, ensuring accountability.
Dynamic Approval Thresholds: Proposal approval thresholds are adjusted based on voting patterns, balancing fairness and rigor.
Privacy and Transparency: A two-step voting process is employed, maintaining privacy during voting while ensuring transparency upon the release of results.
Disease Examples in Etica Protocol
Etica Protocol is actively promoting open-source medical research addressing significant health challenges, particularly focusing on diseases like cancer, Alzheimer's, and diabetes that affect millions globally. Collaborative efforts on the platform are bringing innovative solutions to diseases such as Parkinson's and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), as well as addressing important global issues like malaria and silicosis (lung diseases related to the work environment). Additionally, Etica supports research on cystic fibrosis and various addiction issues, as well as broader fields aimed at extending human lifespan and foundational scientific research. The scope highlighted above underscores Etica's impact in the real world and encourages active participation in promoting equitable and accessible healthcare solutions.
5. IP-NFTs: Empowering Researchers and Ensuring Ownership
Decentralized science (DeSci) is transforming scientific research by establishing a transparent and efficient framework for funding, management, and innovation ownership, much like how blockchain has disrupted traditional financial systems. Through IP-NFTs (Intellectual Property Non-Fungible Tokens) and DAOs, DeSci aims to address the 'Valley of Death'—the critical funding gap between basic research and commercialization, where many promising projects fail due to insufficient funding. Through DAOs, researchers can connect directly with global funders, bypassing traditional barriers to ensure that early-stage projects have the resources needed for expansion. This decentralized approach not only accelerates innovation but also democratizes access to funding, fosters global collaboration, and drives scientific progress.
The core of IP-NFTs is a decentralized framework based on Ethereum that stores legal contracts, smart contracts, and encrypted private data on decentralized platforms like Arweave and Filecoin. By tokenizing research projects, IP-NFTs can achieve efficient fundraising, transparent governance, and collective ownership, empowering researchers while ensuring equitable access to research outcomes. The following cases illustrate this.
Key Advantages of IP-NFTs:
Profitability: Researchers can directly sell their IP-NFTs to raise research funding and achieve considerable economic returns.
Open Access and Control: IP-NFTs can be combined with open access models to ensure that research results are open to the public while retaining ownership.
Real-World Cases
Molecule is a platform that reforms research funding through IP-NFTs. By tokenizing intellectual property, Molecule enables researchers to obtain funding directly from investors, patients, and enthusiasts worldwide.
The Molecule ecosystem has raised over $30 million to support decentralized science.
29 research projects have received funding, covering niche areas such as rare diseases and quantum biology.
The community has over 15,700 members, including scientists, investors, and supporters.
Provided $1.95 million in funding directly to cutting-edge research projects, driving significant advances in underfunded areas.
Source
VitaDAO demonstrates the transformative potential of IP-NFTs in scientific research by utilizing blockchain technology to achieve decentralized funding and governance. VitaDAO has invested over $4.2 million, funding 24 research projects and evaluating over 200 projects, while promoting significant longevity research and fostering collaboration and transparency. The organization has $6 million in liquid assets, proving the efficiency of decentralized mechanisms in supporting innovative research and advancing key scientific fields.
Examples of research projects funded through IP-NFTs
Discovering new autophagy activators
Laboratory: Korolchuk Laboratory, Newcastle University
Research Focus: Seeking compounds that can restore autophagic function in aging cells to address cellular recycling mechanisms related to aging and disease.
Funding Amount: $285,000
Matrix Bio: Inspired by the longevity biotechnology of nude mice
Laboratory: Gorbunova Laboratory
Research Focus: Developing therapies based on high molecular weight hyaluronic acid, utilizing its anti-cancer and longevity properties.
Funding Amount: $300,000
The Longevity Molecule
Laboratory: Scheibye-Knudsen Laboratory
Research Focus: Using machine learning to analyze 1.04 billion prescriptions to identify drugs that can extend human lifespan.
Funding Amount: $537,000
ApoptoSENS: CAR-NK Cells for Clearing Senescent Cells
Research Focus: Utilizing CAR-NK cells to clear senescent cells to combat age-related diseases.
Funding Amount: $253,000
Novel Mitochondrial Autophagy Activators for Alzheimer's Disease
Laboratory: Fang Laboratory
Research Focus: Using AI to screen potential drugs that can restore mitochondrial autophagy functions, aiming to combat Alzheimer's disease and other age-related conditions.
Funding Amount: $300,000
Reversing Periodontal Disease through Aging Science
Laboratory: An Laboratory
Research Focus: Testing compounds targeting inflammation for the treatment of age-related periodontitis and enhancing human healthspan.
Funding Amount: $330,000
ARTAN Bio: Intervening Specific Mutant Codons Associated with Aging and Longevity
Company: ARTAN Bio
Research Focus: Intervening in nonsense mutations that lead to age-related diseases and cancer.
Funding Amount: $91,300
Source
6. Decentralized Solutions for Biomedical Research
Decentralized science (DeSci) fundamentally reverses the status quo of traditional medical research, placing patients and donors at the core. Through blockchain technology, DeSci allows donors to retain control over their biological samples, understand the actual uses of their samples, and even receive economic benefits when samples are commercialized. This model enhances trust and increases participation. Additionally, decentralized systems provide greater security for sensitive data, accessible only with appropriate authorization, thereby more firmly protecting privacy. By replacing centralized repositories with the transparency and immutability of blockchain, DeSci can both secure data and accelerate the progress of biomedical research.
AminoChain: Innovating biomedical research with decentralized science
AminoChain is building a decentralized platform that connects medical institutions with patients and has raised $7 million in funding (including a $5 million seed round led by a16z crypto and Cercano). It aims to create a transparent and efficient biological sample and medical data management system.
At the core of AminoChain is Amino Node, a software package that integrates with existing medical systems (such as EMR and inventory management tools) to standardize data into a unified format while ensuring that data is securely stored on the servers of medical institutions. By unifying data across the network, AminoChain allows developers to create patient-centered applications and facilitates collaboration between medical institutions.
One of the key applications is the Specimen Center, a peer-to-peer biological sample marketplace platform. Researchers can search and request samples from various biobanks on this platform, achieving compliance and traceability management. Traditional processes can take weeks, but here they are significantly streamlined, speeding up research progress. Notably, donors can track their samples, understand the research outcomes generated from their samples, and receive economic returns when samples are commercialized, thereby enhancing trust and boosting participation.
What sets AminoChain apart is its integration of bioethics into its core design, allowing patients to receive transparent information and share in the benefits while providing the biomedical field with a smoother research and collaboration mechanism.
The Bright Future of DeSci: The Revolution of Research Funding
Since 2023, the decentralized science (DeSci) movement has rapidly transformed the funding and operation of scientific research, opening up new possibilities for innovation and collaboration. More than 7 specialized DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations) have emerged, collectively evaluating over 2,000 projects and investing more than $70 million on-chain, encompassing fields such as psychedelic research, hair loss therapies, cryobiology, neuroscience, and cutting-edge quantum biology.
Although only 0.5% of the evaluated projects have received funding, their influence is significant. Over 3,000 ETH have been invested, driving the development of 5 to 6 new drugs. The first product to enter the market—a high-dose spermidine supplement—was driven by VitaDAO and has received approval from the Thai FDA, demonstrating the tangible results of this new funding model.
The Next Wave of Innovation in DeSci
There are also several exciting new projects set to launch:
Curetopia aims to unite patient communities and the public to address over 10,000 rare genetic diseases, placing patients at the center of research and reshaping the treatment model for rare diseases.
Quantum Biology DAO is dedicated to accelerating quantum biology research, fostering community building, open governance, and innovative experimentation, with the goal of understanding and utilizing biological processes at the quantum level, opening new doors for scientific research.
DeSci has gained support from 'big players'
The importance of DeSci has garnered attention from major players in the blockchain sector. Binance Labs made a significant investment in BIO Protocol, a pioneering decentralized platform that enables scientists, patients, and investors to collaboratively fund and co-own cutting-edge biomedical research outcomes. BIO Protocol focuses on key areas such as rare diseases, longevity, and mental health while incubating multiple BioDAOs aimed at accelerating patient-centered innovation.
Industry leaders such as Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and Binance CEO CZ have also attended DeSci events held in Bangkok. Their participation further underscores DeSci's immense potential to transform research funding and mechanisms on a global scale.
DeSci is moving towards multi-chain deployment, no longer limited to Ethereum. For instance, PumpDotScience, based on Solana, is continuously expanding the boundaries of decentralized science. With support from the Solana Foundation, PumpDotScience allows users to watch research experiments in real time and tokenizes longevity compounds. This innovative model has propelled its rapid growth following DevCon: the market cap of the $RIF token rose to $106 million, while $URO surged to $39 million.
Currently, the decentralized science market is rapidly growing, with trading volumes exceeding $25 million and a market capitalization reaching $1.2 billion. DeSci tokens like $RSC, $VITA, and $HAIR launched by ResearchHub, supported by Coinbase founder Brian Armstrong, are thriving. These figures reflect strong investor confidence in DeSci's potential to reshape the scientific landscape.
A New Era of Science: DeSci Revolution
Decentralized science (DeSci) is bringing about a revolutionary change in how science is funded, conducted, and shared. With the support of industry giants like Binance and pioneers like Vitalik Buterin, DeSci is not just a technological innovation, but a movement aimed at democratizing science and addressing major challenges facing humanity.
The potential demonstrated by projects like BIO Protocol, Curetopia, and Quantum Biology DAO proves that DeSci can achieve real breakthroughs, while cross-chain collaboration expands the landscape of DeSci from Ethereum to platforms like Solana. This is not just about blockchain speculation, but about curing diseases, accelerating scientific discoveries, and making innovation accessible to all.
DeSci represents a proactive embrace of the future: science will become more open, collaborative, and inclusive. It is not a fleeting trend but a major transformation with profound implications for the future of humanity. As this movement gains momentum, we have reason to believe that humanity stands on the threshold of a genuine transformation that will have far-reaching effects on our future.