DeSci: Transforming Research with Decentralized Science

Decentralized science (DeSci) is a new way to do scientific research using blockchains to make research more open, clear, and accessible to all. 

In the traditional system of science, called “TradSci,” central institutions manage research. Examples of these institutions include universities, government agencies, and private companies. While this system has led to great advancements, it also creates barriers to progress. These hurdles include high costs for research and publishing, limited access to knowledge, and slow collaboration. 

DeSci, on the other hand, focuses on open science — a movement that believes all knowledge should be freely accessible. Using tools like decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), smart contracts, and tokens, DeSci helps scientists take charge of how research is funded, done, and shared. It supports global collaboration, encourages open-source data sharing, and removes gatekeepers who limit access to scientific discoveries. 

In this system, researchers have more methods to fund their projects. They can publish their findings on open-access platforms and also tokenize their intellectual property to gain more support or additional revenue. Overall, the goal is to build a more inclusive and transparent world of scientific research.

🤔 What Problems Does DeSci Solve?

The traditional way of doing scientific research has several problems that DeSci looks to fix. These issues not only slow down progress but also limit who can contribute to and benefit from scientific research.

Lack of Funding

In TradSci, only a small portion of researchers receive funding for their work. 

Large institutions funnel most money into popular topics, leaving smaller but equally important studies unfunded. Many researchers struggle to move their discoveries from the lab to real-world solutions that help people, a challenge often called the "valley of death." This bottleneck limits the impact of valuable ideas.

Barriers to Access

Most scientific research remains behind paywalls in journals, meaning only people with access or money can read it. This restricts people from widely sharing knowledge and slows down collaboration. For many, even accessing past studies can be a major challenge.

Lack of Transparency and Trust

Scientific findings are sometimes criticized because they are hard to repeat or prove. This "reproducibility crisis" happens when researchers don't have enough, if any, reasons to check each other's work or share their raw data. Funding and publishing decisions are also often made in secret, which can lead to bias in findings.

Inefficient Collaboration

Scientists often work separately because the industry is very competitive, where one group's success often comes at the expense of another's. This leads researchers, institutions, and countries to keep their data private, which slows progress and makes it harder to solve big problems like climate change or medical breakthroughs.

⛓️ How Does DeSci Use Blockchain?

DeSci uses blockchain technology and open-source tools to tackle these problems in traditional science. By decentralizing systems and making information easier to access, DeSci can make scientific research faster, fairer, and more reliable. Here are ways it can contribute.

Decentralized Funding

DeSci does not depend on institutions or governments for funding. Instead, it uses platforms run by decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) and tokens. 

These systems allow researchers to raise money directly from communities around the world. For example, some projects use quadratic funding such as Gitcoin. This method focuses on giving larger funding to projects which have received many smaller donations rather only a few large amounts. This ensures that everyone in the scientific community expresses their opinions on what gets funded.

Open Access and Data Sharing

The permanence of blockchains means they can make scientific research secure and unchangeable. This allows anyone to access studies and check their accuracy more easily. Further, with decentralized databases, researchers can publish their work on open science platforms that anyone can read for free. Using blockchains also enables global data sharing, where scientists can collaborate across borders by sharing raw datasets and findings securely.

Transparent and Fair Peer Review

The peer review process is critical to ensuring the quality of research, but it’s often opaque in TradSci. In DeSci, blockchain can track and reward reviewers for their contributions, ensuring that reviews are fair and credible. Smart contracts can even manage the peer review process, making it transparent and open to the entire scientific community.

Tokenization of Research

One of the most exciting features of DeSci is the ability to tokenize intellectual property. Researchers can create NFTs (non-fungible tokens) to represent ownership of their findings. These tokens can be used by other researchers to create additional revenue streams, or traded, creating new funding opportunities. For example, researchers might set funding goals based on a token's market cap. This way, projects only move forward when they have enough funding. Overall, this system puts more control in the hands of scientists and their supporters.

Addressing the “Reproducibility Crisis”

As mentioned, the "reproducibility crisis" happens when scientists can’t repeat experiments and get the same results, which makes it hard to trust the research. DeSci helps fix this by rewarding scientists for double-checking experiments and proving the results are accurate. Using blockchain technology, researchers can keep clear records to show their work was done correctly, making scientific research more trustworthy.

🧱 DeSci Platforms

Decentralized science (DeSci) doesn’t just aim to rethink how science is done; it also builds practical tools to transform key aspects of the research process. These platforms are designed to address specific challenges like funding, publishing, and conducting research by introducing decentralized, blockchain-based solutions, all playing a vital role in making scientific research more open, collaborative, and efficient.

Fundraising Platforms

Securing research funding for innovative projects is tough. DeSci platforms ease this by connecting researchers with supporters, leveraging DAOs and blockchain to make funding fairer and more accessible. Here are some platforms focused on transforming funding.

Publishing Platforms

As discussed, scientific research is often locked behind paywalls. Decentralized science publishing platforms leverage blockchain to offer open, secure access, enhancing transparency and collaboration. Here are some of the top projects:

Research Platforms

Using tools like IP-NFTs and DAOs, blockchain-based research organizations can create new ways to share and govern discoveries while ensuring transparency. Below are leading groups specializing in different kinds of research: