What is Decentralized Science?
Decentralized Science (DeSci) is a web3-enabled movement that is changing the way the world's researchers collaborate, share, and fund new scientific endeavors.
Broadly speaking, DeSci operates on the principle that scientific knowledge should be a public good — freely accessible and openly shared. By incentivizing scientists to share their research and receive proper credit for their contributions, DeSci creates an ecosystem where global collaboration is baked into the everyday research process.
A Better Way to Publish, Review, and Fund Scientific Research
At its core, DeSci seeks to build a public infrastructure for funding, creating, reviewing, crediting, and disseminating scientific knowledge in a way that is more efficient, equitable, and accessible than legacy systems.
The traditional scientific research process suffers from a wide range of systemic inefficiencies, ranging from centralized, biased funding allocation and publication requirements to opaque peer reviews and information silos. These issues hinder innovation, fragment research efforts, and restrict access to knowledge.
By addressing inherent inefficiencies within this traditional ecosystem, DeSci holds the promise of improving scientific research in several key ways:
- Global Collaboration: DeSci platforms help make scientific knowledge accessible to everyone, regardless of their location or institutional affiliation. The end result is a more inclusive and diverse research community that makes it easier for researchers to connect, share their findings, and build on each other’s work.
- Transparency and Trust: By recording all transactions and research activities on a blockchain, DeSci ensures that data is transparent and verifiable. This can enhance trust in scientific findings and reduce instances of fraud or misconduct.
- New Funding Opportunities: Decentralized funding mechanisms can provide more equitable access to research funds. This is especially helpful for early-stage or non-affiliated projects that may struggle to receive support from traditional sources.
- Efficiency and Speed: Smart contracts can automate many aspects of scientific collaboration, from funding sourcing and disbursement to research attribution and reputation scoring. This can significantly reduce the time and administrative burden associated with traditional scientific methods.
Through its blockchain-enabled features and services, DeSci is helping democratize access to funding, scientific tools, and communication channels – all without pressuring scientists and researchers to abandon traditional avenues for collaboration and funding. The collective goal of this burgeoning sector is to provide new and improved options for the scientific community while continuing to build on the success of everything that came before.
The DeSci Ecosystem: A Collective Movement, Not a Centralized Industry
DeSci is a collective endeavor that is not owned or defined by any individual project. The movement envisions a decentralized and distributed model of scientific research, resilient to censorship and control by central authorities.
And while the DeSci sector is relatively new, a diverse array of projects has already emerged, addressing different aspects of the academic research lifecycle or entire fields of scientific discovery. These projects range from full-fledged decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) to hybrid platforms that have implemented a subset of web3 features.
- Drug Development DAOs crowdsource collaboration in drug research, relying on transparent, automated processes to define and execute key research priorities, share data, and allocate resources.
- Focused Research groups conduct specialized research in targeted scientific fields, using decentralized methods to promote collaboration and ensure the verifiability of all processes and outcomes.
- Publishing & Peer Review platforms make it easier for researchers to publish their findings, pressure-test new ideas, and build on each other’s’ work without relying on traditional journals.
- Intellectual Property Tokenization platforms enable fractional IP ownership and management via blockchain-enabled services and data repositories, unlocking new monetization opportunities and simplifying IP transfers and ownership.
- Data Networks facilitate secure, interoperable data sharing and management on decentralized platforms in a way that ensures data integrity and verifiability. These networks often provide free data access and help break down information silos.
- Data Monetization & Exchanges allow researchers to monetize data through decentralized exchanges, maintaining control and transparency. This provides new revenue streams and fosters an open, collaborative research environment.
- Decentralized Biotech Accelerators support early-stage biotech projects with decentralized funding mechanisms, expert mentorship, and shared resources.
- Investment Funds pool resources from a wide range of investors to support scientific research, ensuring transparent, trackable investments. These platforms broaden participation in scientific funding decisions and benefit independent researchers.
- Infrastructure Tools provide foundational technologies like blockchain platforms and development tools, enabling the creation and maintenance of decentralized scientific applications.
Many DeSci projects have already made the leap from theory to practice, positively impacting the fields they operate within. For instance, bio.xyz, a biotech DAO and accelerator, recently celebrated the graduation of its first cohort of biotech DAOs, which are making meaningful progress in various fields ranging from reproductive health to synthetic biology. Data Lake, a ethical data platform, conducted an immensely successful clinical trial recruitment pilot in Q4 2023 and is currently in the process of taking their solution live in Poland. And users of ResearchHub, the social hub of scientific studies, have collectively earned ~$1.8M for contributing to the platform's growing body of scientific knowledge.
DeSci: A New Paradigm for Scientific Discovery
Today’s scientific ecosystem is an undisputed driver of innovation and progress – but there is no doubt that there is still room for improvement. Within this backdrop, the DeSci movement offers a promising, wide-ranging approach to overcoming existing hurdles to scientific discovery.
The diverse array of projects within the DeSci space — from drug development and funding DAOs to decentralized biotech accelerators and data networks — illustrates the movement's broad impact. Collectively, these projects are helping connect a wide range of scientific stakeholders from around the world – from researchers and developers to funders and the ultimate beneficiaries of new scientific breakthroughs.
As web3 continues to evolve, its integration with DeSci promises to drive profound advancements in how we conduct and disseminate scientific research. All indications point to a community of scientists, researchers, and academic stakeholders who are up to the task, and today’s DeSci projects are already helping fuel the next wave of scientific breakthroughs.
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