Thanks to the rapidly developing blockchain technology, scientists are increasingly interested in using it in their research. Finally, they have found the right way to use smart contracts and tokens to increase efficiency and accelerate scientific progress.
Leading research centers usually require a lot of resources to improve the field. However, these centers have the right to limit access to these resources for the researchers and scientists themselves. In this article, you will learn about DeSci and how the movement emerged in response to it, as well as a list of other issues facing the scientific community.
What is DeSci?
Currently, you can see dozens of definitions for DeSci. However, it all comes down to simply explaining this as an opportunity for science to move forward and improve its effectiveness throughout the world. Giving professionals the tools to make science more accessible and powerful than ever.
DeSci, or decentralized science, is an environment focused on creating a self-regulating system for the acquisition and dissemination of knowledge, scientific research, and the equitable distribution of research and development funds.
This term DeSci can also include the possibility of freely expanding collaboration among scientists without any boundaries or necessary intermediaries.
At the moment, the technology is at the beginning of its development, taking the first timid steps towards great results in the future. At least that's what scientists and other participants in this field hope and work for.
Anything in common with modern science?
Of course, DeSci has a lot in common with 21st century science because it was introduced to solve its problems. Let's look at a few of the major challenges facing the scientific space today.
- Financing. Funding is a concern for science people around the world. Applying for grants and writing reports takes up a lot of time that could be spent on more important things. Using blockchain technology, decentralized finance, and NFTs can make it easier to find sustainable sources of funding.
- Reputation verification. Now the reputation of scientists is based on the H-index. It measures the number of publications and citations. It also determines the chances of receiving funding from public or private foundations. The blockchain will record reputation in NFTs. It will store information about the scientist and his research. A non-fungible token will guarantee a verifiable reputation. These tokens will be available for both research and review, training, mentoring and open data dissemination. When citing a scientific paper, researchers will be required to mention the NFT associated with that work. Users of DeSci platforms will be able to rate a publication using its token. This will help track the benefits of research. Through NFTs, the scientific community will decide whether to trust a scientist, and the DAO will decide whether to provide funding.
- Data access and sharing. Most scientific documents and studies are not available for free public use. DeSci solves this problem. This way people can stay informed about what's happening on the ground.
- Political issues and censorship. The government has a lot of influence on the community and publishers. Under such pressure, many “inappropriate” research materials are not published or are distorted. DeSci prevents such incidents. All decisions are made by the DAO scientific community through voting. Thanks to the blockchain, information remains online and is available to everyone at any time.
- Validation of the study. There is such a problem in science as the replication crisis. Many works published in scientific journals are repeated by independent researchers. As a result, tons of scientific discoveries are not confirmed. However, they remain true for a long time. Discoveries that cannot be confirmed by repeated experiments are cited 153 times more often. DeSci addresses this problem by creating standards for publishing and storing research. The introduction of proof-of-existence technology could help the scientific community avoid unverified publications.
These are the general challenges of the industry. There are also much smaller obstacles that DeSci can overcome over time. As we can see, the above points are enough to complicate the life of scientists. With decentralized science, most problems will disappear and allow the scientific community to develop and present their discoveries to the public.
DeSci Projects
The growth of DeSci and its acceptance by the scientific community will accelerate progress. But what's happening right now? Are there any projects or companies that support DeSci and are ready to implement his ideas? Let's check some of them.
VitaDao
Truly, decentralized science in action! In short, VitaDAO aims to decentralize drug development aimed at extending people's lives and improving their quality of life. This project funds early stage research.
VitaDAO has its own VITA token, which is used to manage and support the entire ecosystem. VITA gives holders the right to join voting and make decisions regarding the VitaDAO platform.
SKINET
This is a blockchain-based project. This allows retailers and investors to directly participate in investing in research and technology. They also provide researchers with a dedicated cloud-based blockchain lab.
By the way, SCINET is powered by an Internet Computer Program (ICP) . As stated on the SCINET website, this will enable the possibility of creating a truly decentralized ecosystem.
LabDAO
This is a special purpose company created to drive progress in computational life sciences. LabDAO will be useful for both independent specialists and affiliated organizations - it will provide all the tools necessary to find investors, collaborators and conduct research.
Bio.xyz
It is literally a biotech DAO accelerator, supporting DeSci developers. This gives them resources, tools and a set of legal and smart contracts. The team aims to create decentralized scientific DAOs to use IP-NFTs to fund, manage and develop data from firms, universities and individual researchers from around the world.
Molecule
This is DeSci's research funding platform . It acts as a marketplace for researchers looking for investors, and for investors themselves looking for big scientific projects in which to invest money. So, the main function of a molecule is to connect both sides.
There are other DeSci projects, but many of them are more theoretical in nature. They are looking for funding to implement their ideas and move science forward. Organizations such as Experiment and Crowd Funded Cures help them with this.
In conclusion
Thanks to blockchain, scientists and researchers will be able to store, share and access scientific data securely and confidentially. Today, DeSci is in an experimental stage, trying to make the scientific field accessible and transparent. With the use of new DeSci tools, you can expect to empower scientists and achieve new scientific results to accelerate progress.
Some of DeSci's ideas and theories may seem crazy and unrealistic. Time will tell which ones will simply fall off and which ones will actually work, helping both scientists and ordinary people access vital information.
