Decentralized Science (DeSci) refers to an emerging model of organizing and funding scientific research in a more open, collaborative, and decentralized manner powered by Web3 technologies such as blockchain, cryptocurrency tokens, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Goals
The goals and purported benefits of the DeSci model include enabling broader participation in science from different stakeholders like patients and researchers, moving power away from centralized research institutions towards decentralized communities, creating new tokenized funding and incentive models for research, and promoting open access collaboration.
Some have referred to DeSci as aiming to create a "creator economy" for scientists, in the same way that NFTs have created new economic opportunities for artists.
The DeSci movement has gained significant momentum over the past couple of years, with a growing number of projects and communities coalescing around building decentralized infrastructure for science spanning areas like funding, data sharing, open access publishing, governance, and laboratory services.
Components
Decentralized Funding Models
A key component of the DeSci model is experimenting with new decentralized ways of allocating funding and incentives for scientific research, moving beyond traditional sources like government grants.
Several DeSci projects have utilized DAOs to coordinate funding from a group of members to support early stage research. For example, VitaDAO is a community of over 5000 scientists and enthusiasts funding longevity research, having supported over $2 million in projects so far.
NFTs representing intellectual property licenses have emerged as another DeSci funding method. Molecule's IP-NFT model allows research assets to be listed and purchased on a marketplace, with the buyers having certain rights to resulting IP, data access, or royalty streams.
Some projects are also experimenting with tokenized incentive models to motivate scientific contributions. Participants can earn and stake governance tokens for active involvement in a DeSci community, influencing decision making on what research gets funded.
There is also interest in decentralized matching funds through mechanisms like quadratic funding, which uses a mathematical formula to allocate donations in a way that rewards projects with the most support from small donors.
Decentralized Knowledge Sharing
Decentralizing access to scientific knowledge is another major focus area of the DeSci movement. This includes building open access platforms for publishing research as well as enabling more open data sharing.
A number of projects are experimenting with blockchain-based solutions for open access scientific publishing, including decentralized peer review models that incentivize community participation. These platforms aim to make papers and data more freely accessible outside of expensive journal paywalls.
Enabling permissionless access to research data is another priority. Distributed storage networks like Filecoin and Arweave allow researchers to permanently store datasets and control access rights using crypto wallets rather than centralized authorities. Data NFTs can also give fine-grained control over sharing specific datasets.
Molecule has introduced a concept of attaching data access rights to IP-NFT research assets, so purchasers can fund projects in exchange for access to resulting datasets. Data marketplaces are also emerging to allow the exchange of access rights to datasets.
Standardized legal frameworks around areas like licensing and IP ownership rights are being developed to define how decentralized knowledge sharing models comply with regulations. Striking a balance between openness and commercial viability is an ongoing challenge.
Decentralized Governance
Decentralizing decision-making and control over scientific priorities is another defining goal of the DeSci paradigm shift. This means finding ways to include broader stakeholder participation beyond just centralized research institutions.
A number of DeSci projects are working on reputation systems as a way to quantify contributions and grant different levels of governance influence. Metrics assessing community involvement, past research outputs, peer reviews etc. can help decentralize control.
Patient groups and other interested community members are participating more actively in biomedical research DAOs using token-based voting and proposals to help determine key priorities and funding allocations. For example, members of the VitaDAO community leverage $VITA tokens for governance over which longevity studies get funded.
Scientists themselves also have opportunities for more autonomy and ownership by participating in DeSci networks as contributors or stakeholders rather than relying on centralized academic institutions. Avoiding administrative gatekeepers can increase researcher agency and velocity.
Decentralized Execution
Emerging DeSci models provide more decentralized options for actually executing and operationalizing scientific research, introducing alternatives to relying solely on centralized research institutions.
Biotech startups are increasingly leveraging decentralization including sharing lab space in coworking models, hiring talent across borders, and collaborating on projects.
Other options mentioned for decentralizing research operations include:
Virtual biotech models that outsource lab processes to contract research organizations (CROs), sponsored research agreements (SRAs), and cloud labs.
LabDAO building a decentralized marketplace to connect researchers with microCROs offering specific services.
Molecule's IP-NFT model allowing tokenized ownership or rewards for remote contributors participating across drug development stages.
DeSci DAOs
Organization Name | Description | Discord | Telegram | Other Links | |
Addressing the knowledge and resource gap in women’s non-reproductive health through worldwide research and IP funding. | |||||
Advancing women’s health research, education, and funding, with a focus on translational R&D. | - | - | - | ||
Supporting and developing the cannabis industry using DeSci and blockchain technology. | |||||
Investing in solutions & cures to Alzheimer’s disease and advancing brain wellness and longevity. | - | - | |||
Solving complex problems through collective intelligence in quantitative finance. | - | - | DeSci Domain, White Paper | ||
Minimizing suffering by accelerating clinical discovery through a community-owned rewards system. | Discord | - | |||
Connecting decentralized and scientific communities to further the mission of Decentralizing Science. | - | - | |||
FrontierDAO | Incubating innovation in fusion energy, space exploration, and climate solutions. | - | Whitepaper, NFT Collection | ||
Future Foods DAO | Funding early-stage alternative protein open-source research. | - | - | - | - |
Focusing on the security of genomic data and quality of research workflow. | - | ||||
GenomicDAO | Advancing Precision Medicine for under-representative populations using AI. | - | - | Whitepaper | |
Searching for a cure for hair loss. | - | ||||
Cryptocurrency focused on age prevention and reversal. | - | - | - | ||
Offering free tools for research code reproducibility and safety. | - | ||||
An open, community-run network of laboratories with a CRO/Marketplace focus. | - | - | |||
A community-owned ecosystem revolutionizing collaboration and democratizing funding. | - | - | |||
Funding research at the intersection of psychedelics and mental health. | |||||
A biohacking and personalized wellness community. | - | ||||
Performing decentralized trials and ‘adversarial research’. | - | - | - | ||
Supporting the transition to a sustainable bioeconomy by funding democratically elected academic research. | - | ||||
Funding longevity research with a mission to extend human life and healthspan. | - | - | - | Links, Governance Proposals, YouTube, Podcasts, Articles, Newsletter |
Resources
DeSci Berlin
DeSci London
Schelling Point 2022
DeSci @ Schelling Point Amsterdam 2022
Articles
A Guide to DeSci, the Latest Web3 Movement - a16z crypto
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