Chainfeeds Summary:
There are many stumbling blocks that hinder the progress of scientific research throughout its life cycle. Additionally, the pressure to publish articles or research results has led to issues such as over-inference, replication, and systemic inequalities, resulting in underrepresentation of minority groups. These systemic problems highlight the need for innovative solutions to democratize access to research funding, promote collaboration, and maintain the integrity of scientific discoveries. Therefore, this article aims to address two questions: why use DeSci, and how can DeSci solve the problems.
Source:
https://v3locity.capital/writing/decentralised-science-de-sci-why-and-how
Authors:
Anthony Chan, Shubham Kumar
Perspective:
Velocity Capital: Decentralized Science (DeSci) is a new movement that leverages blockchain technology to address core challenges in the scientific realm, such as lack of funding, transparency, and collaboration. By utilizing decentralized technologies like tokens, Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), and Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs), DeSci aims to create a more open, community-driven, and incentivized approach to scientific research. It promotes transparent funding models, peer-review processes, and data sharing by eliminating traditional gatekeepers. DeSci projects like VitaDAO, Molecule, and AminoChain demonstrate how decentralized platforms can reshape the way scientific research is funded, conducted, and disseminated, ultimately bridging the gap between basic research and clinical applications while ensuring data ownership and transparency. The following is an overview of how DeSci can provide solutions to the key problems facing the scientific community: 1. DAOs: Enhancing the governance of scientific collaboration. DAOs provide a decentralized, community-driven framework for funding and decision-making in scientific research. By democratizing resource allocation, they enable scientists, investors, and other stakeholders to propose and vote on projects, fostering a collaborative and transparent research environment. Examples include BioDAO, HairDAO, and ValleyDAO. 2. Decentralized, persistent, and accessible research data. DeSci provides researchers with a secure and decentralized way to store their data, manuscripts, and research materials. Leveraging blockchain technology, these platforms ensure long-term accessibility of research outputs, preventing issues like "link rot." DeSci Nodes, for instance, offers decentralized storage to guarantee permanent and immutable access to research findings. 3. Replication incentives and peer review: Addressing the replication crisis. A current issue in science is the "replication crisis," where many studies fail to reproduce the same results. DeSci addresses this by rewarding scientists who replicate experiments or review the work of others. Platforms like ResearchHub, supported by Coinbase founder Brian Armstrong, use tokens to incentivize scientists to verify research, provide feedback, and contribute to peer review. 4. Open access and programmatic publishing. DeSci eliminates the barriers of traditional publishing paywalls by providing open access options for scientists to freely share their work. For example, DeSci Publish allows researchers to upload and disseminate their work without paying exorbitant publishing fees, ensuring greater impact for scientific discoveries. 5. IP-NFTs: Empowering researchers and ensuring ownership. By leveraging IP-NFTs and DAOs, DeSci solves the "valley of death" - a critical funding gap between basic research and commercialization, where many promising projects fail due to lack of financial support. Through DAOs, researchers can directly access a global network of funders, bypassing traditional barriers and ensuring early-stage projects receive the resources needed for scaling. 6. Decentralized solutions in the biomedical domain. DeSci provides a transformative solution by placing patients and donors at the center of the process. Using blockchain technology, DeSci ensures donors retain control over their biological samples, allowing them to understand how their contributions are used and even share in the economic benefits if the samples are commercialized.
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