How Decentralized Science Will Aid in Growing an Equitable Environment for Scientific Innovations?

Key Takeaways:

• Learn the factors hindering modern-day scientific research attempts from unleashing innovative solutions unlike before.
• Explore how decentralized science (DeSci) could drive innovative attempts by connecting various stakeholders across the space.
• Discover various decentralized science projects working across multiple sub-domains to support new-age scientific solutions.

Scientific research has been an inseparable facet of global livelihoods since times unknown, with every innovation improving human lives to a degree higher. As time progressed, more innovative solutions were unleashed at unbelievable speeds, especially during the 15th to 20th centuries. While the modern-day scientific sector is blessed with immense advancements and access to information, the pace of new innovations seems to have fallen behind. A variety of factors contribute to the hindrances in today’s scientific sector, and decentralized science (DeSci) is poised to become the answer to make the space equitable to every stakeholder. This blog focuses on how DeSci functions and the current scope of running decentralized science projects.

Common Hindrances in Modern-day Scientific Research Space

The modern-day scientific research sector has spanned industries and niches that were unimaginable even a century ago. However, advancements seem to have stagnated compared to the last few centuries when the world’s understanding of various aspects and processes changed. Why? The current condition of the scientific community is riddled with several hindering factors that slow progress.

• Data Sharing: Collecting data for scientific research in the modern day might not be easy, given the number of complications involved. The complexity might increase based on the nature of the data. For example, collecting healthcare information is highly difficult compared to data related to an exoplanet’s atmospheric conditions.
• Research and Publishing: Conducting research and publishing reports is a crucial part of any scientific research project. However, problems like IP infringement, publisher gatekeeping, review quality, and high fees make it more difficult for innovative researchers to continue their efforts. Such dominance by publishing journals will make scientific research an inefficient venture.
• Funding: Today, garnering funds for scientific research comes with multiple challenges, as most funds are run by private organizations that may demand compromises to the discovery. Misaligned interests between contributors and researchers and the lack of incentives to pursue ethical and experimental research tend to be problematic.

How Can Decentralized Science Resolve These Concerns?

With the abovementioned constraints hindering the pace of research that leads to world-changing discoveries, many consider decentralized science (DeSci) an alternative to open opportunities. The unprecedented advent of Web3 technology has solidified this notion, as well as support from key figures in the space, including Vitalik Buterin (Ethereum’s founder), Brian Armstrong (Coinbase’s founder), and Balaji Srinivasan (former CTO of Coinbase).

• Decentralized scientific publishing mechanisms can prioritize quality control, anti-sybil protection, and article-level metrics that ensure the legitimacy of research while providing incentives for scientific professionals.
• Web3-based tools can be utilized to ensure that replicated materials are not published. Extensive consensus systems can be used to ensure that all facets of a research project—data, computational algorithms, and results—are attested accordingly. 
• Funding in the DeSci world can become easier through exclusive crypto offering platforms and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs). These can ease fundraising for novel research efforts from individuals and corporations.
• Intellectual property (IP) concerns can be addressed through NFTs, which represent unique pieces of information that cannot be replicated or tampered with. However, other projects can use this data with proper attribution on-chain, increasing the degree of legitimacy.
• Concerns with storing and accessing data can be removed through decentralized storage networks that utilize a combination of blockchains and distributed hardware. This enhances security for storage and seamlessness for access, resulting in better times for researchers.

Top Decentralized Science Projects Driving Change

Today, numerous decentralized science projects have been at the forefront of disrupting the traditional scientific research space. Several companies are working on each aspect of this wide ecosystem, contributing to the betterment of the sector using blockchain technology. Together, they also ensure the space is equitable and accessible to all, opening the chances for innovative projects.

• Funding: Decentralized science funding ventures allow researchers to raise funds by selling crypto tokens representing their projects. Some of them focus on specific niches, while others support projects across the space.

• Research: Research-based open-sourced projects consist of both labs and methodological solutions scientists can use to conduct research without constraints. Examples include In Real Lab, LabDAO, LunCo, Perlara PBC, and Gainforest.

• Data: Decentralized data ventures offer provisions for collecting and managing data, with several platforms working exclusively on each facet. They can provide utility crypto tokens that can be used inside the ecosystem.

• Review: Decentralized science reviewing projects let researchers access the best peer reviewers for their journals regardless of geographical location. They are driven by an ecosystem that uses tokens with various utilities.

• Publishing: DeSci publishing service providers let researchers publish their work digitally as NFTs and sell them to the open market. This way, ownership is preserved, and on-chain citations can become easier.

• Infrastructure: Projects based on DeSci infrastructure offer comprehensive services for scientists in various niches to accomplish their intended missions without compromising the quality of research efforts.

• Art: Art projects in the DeSci world allow individuals and creators to unleash artistic NFTs based on scientific data or those representing scientific data. These ventures serve as a hype machine to get people into the space.

• Communities: DeSci communities are popular for pooling talents in various fields and forming forums for healthy discussions and proposals. They can offer cryptos as rewards for engagement that can be used inside the ecosystem.

Conclusion

Therefore, we have seen how decentralized science could be the game changer for the scientific community with its use of open-source mechanisms and community-centric workflows. Every DeSci solution we discussed above can help in resolving the long-standing problems with the modern-day scientific research spade riddled with intermediaries. By using technologies like blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI), among others, decentralized science companies have a bright prospect of making the future of research equitable and accessible to every aspirant individual worldwide. If you are looking to form your decentralized science project or create token infrastructure for your existing venture, our experts can offer you the best assistance using top-notch technology. Connect with us now to discuss your requirements!