How Can Decentralised Science (DeSci) Change Scientific Research?
Decentralised Science (DeSci) is an emerging movement that leverages Web3 to transform scientific research by addressing inefficiencies in funding, collaboration, and accessibility. Traditional scientific research is often hindered by centralised institutions, restricted access to knowledge, and slow funding processes that favor established researchers and conventional topics. DeSci disrupts this model by utilising blockchain’s transparency, smart contracts, and Decentralised Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) to create a more open and equitable research ecosystem. By decentralising decision-making and funding, DeSci aims to remove barriers that prevent innovative scientific breakthroughs from reaching wider audiences.
One of the key ways DeSci revolutionises scientific discovery is through its alternative funding mechanisms. Instead of relying on government grants or private institutions, researchers can access funding through DAOs, where contributors, including individuals, venture capital firms, and even patient communities, get to vote on which projects they believe should receive support. This model fosters a more democratic allocation of resources, ensuring that even some non-traditional research areas, such as longevity studies and psychedelics, receive the funding they need. Blockchain-based smart contracts further streamline this process by executing funding agreements automatically when predefined conditions are met, reducing administrative burdens and increasing transparency.
Beyond funding, DeSci improves access to scientific data and research findings by eliminating paywalls and institutional gatekeeping. Decentralised repositories allow researchers to publish and share their work freely, ensuring that valuable knowledge is not locked behind expensive journal subscriptions. Blockchain technology also enhances the credibility of scientific records by providing an immutable ledger of research contributions, peer reviews, and data verification. This approach strengthens reproducibility in science, as researchers can independently validate findings while receiving tokenised incentives for contributing to peer review processes.
By integrating global collaboration, transparent governance, and decentralised funding, DeSci creates a research environment that is more efficient, inclusive, and resistant to bias. It challenges the traditional paradigm of scientific discovery by shifting control away from centralised institutions to a broader community of stakeholders, fostering a system where knowledge is more accessible and scientific progress is accelerated. Open-sourcing scientific research and technological development is seen by some as crucial for human progress, as it accelerates innovation, enhances collaboration, and ensures that knowledge and breakthroughs are accessible to all, rather than being restricted by institutional or corporate barriers. As DeSci continues to evolve, its impact could reshape how research is conducted and funded, offering new opportunities for innovation that traditional systems have struggled to support.
The Importance Of Making Scientific Research Accessible to Everyone
DeSci is facilitating research across a wide range of fields, leveraging decentralised funding models to support scientific progress that might otherwise struggle to receive traditional backing. In healthcare, DeSci is accelerating longevity research, drug discovery, and personalised medicine by connecting researchers directly with interested funders and patient groups. Platforms like VitaDAO are funding anti-aging research, while decentralised funding models and tokenisation are enabling faster, more transparent clinical trials. In artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, DeSci is supporting open-access projects that aim to democratise machine learning advancements, reduce bias in AI development, and create open source or decentralised AI models that are not controlled by a handful of corporations. The ability to fund and share AI research in a decentralised manner ensures that critical breakthroughs remain accessible rather than locked behind proprietary systems.
Access to research is particularly important in emerging fields like AI, robotics, blockchain, and healthcare because these areas are rapidly evolving and deeply interconnected. AI advancements, for example, are crucial for improving medical diagnostics, robotic automation, and even blockchain-based security measures. Some believe that if research remains siloed within private institutions, progress is slowed, and innovation is restricted to a select few. DeSci aims to spark a wave of innovation much like open-source software has revolutionised computing, enabling rapid advancements through unrestricted collaboration and shared knowledge. By decentralising access to research data, funding, and collaboration opportunities, DeSci aims to ensure that breakthroughs in these fields can be shared and iterated upon by a global community of scientists, developers, and engineers. This accessibility is vital for developing new technologies at scale, as the free exchange of ideas leads to faster problem-solving and broader implementation.
As technology advances, the distinctions between different fields of research are becoming increasingly blurred. AI is enhancing blockchain security and smart contract automation, while blockchain is being explored for secure data sharing in healthcare and AI training. Robotics relies on AI for autonomous decision-making, and AI-driven biotechnology is transforming healthcare with precision medicine and robotic-assisted surgeries. These interdisciplinary overlaps highlight the need for decentralised, open-access research, as breakthroughs in one area can often lead to unexpected innovations in another. DeSci enables these synergies by providing a transparent, permissionless framework where research from various fields can be combined, refined, and expanded upon collaboratively.
The integration of decentralised research models in these fields represents a fundamental shift in how scientific discovery is conducted and shared. Instead of relying on institutional gatekeepers, DeSci can empower a global network of contributors to support and accelerate technological progress. By removing barriers to funding, data access, and collaboration, decentralised research ecosystems foster innovation at an unprecedented rate. Universities and scientific institutions are increasingly optimistic about the potential of DeSci to enhance research transparency, funding accessibility, and global collaboration, accelerating innovation across multiple disciplines. As AI, robotics, blockchain, and healthcare continue to evolve, the open sharing of knowledge will be key to unlocking transformative breakthroughs that benefit society as a whole.
DeSci Projects to Keep an Eye On
OriginTrail
OriginTrail is a decentralised knowledge infrastructure designed to enhance trust, transparency, and discoverability of real-world assets (RWAs) and critical information, particularly in the era of artificial intelligence. By utilizing its Decentralised Knowledge Graph (DKG) and OriginTrail Parachain, the protocol ensures verifiable and AI-ready knowledge assets that can be leveraged by enterprises, institutions, and individuals globally. OriginTrail’s approach combats misinformation by providing a transparent and immutable record of information, allowing for more reliable AI-powered search and solutions. Its partnerships with organizations such as the British Standards Institution, Walmart, the EU Commission, and Oracle underscore its broad applicability across industries, from supply chains to healthcare and finance. The project’s long-term roadmap aims to scale the Verifiable Web exponentially, enabling autonomous knowledge mining and AI-driven research, positioning it as a crucial component in the future of decentralised data integrity.
Etica Protocol
Etica Protocol is a decentralised and open-source blockchain-based system designed to fund and incentivise medical research through a transparent and community-driven approach. It aims to address inefficiencies in traditional scientific funding models by utilising blockchain to fairly distribute resources and rewards for valuable research contributions. Etica operates without centralised intermediaries, relying on decentralised governance where token holders collectively decide which research projects should receive funding. By leveraging blockchain’s transparency and immutability, the protocol ensures that research findings remain openly accessible, reducing barriers to collaboration and accelerating scientific advancements in medicine.
Vita DAO
VitaDAO is a DAO focused on funding and advancing early-stage longevity and biomedical research. It operates on a blockchain-based model where members collectively govern and finance scientific projects related to extending human lifespan and combating age-related diseases. By leveraging decentralised funding mechanisms and tokenised intellectual property (IP), VitaDAO enables a transparent and community-driven approach to research, bypassing traditional funding bottlenecks. Researchers submit proposals, which are evaluated and voted on by token holders, ensuring a more democratic allocation of resources. Through this model, VitaDAO aims to accelerate innovation in longevity science while maintaining open access to research findings.
Bio Protocol
Bio Protocol is a decentralised curation and liquidity platform designed to accelerate biotechnology by enabling global communities of patients, scientists, and biotech professionals to collectively fund, build, and own tokenised biotech projects and intellectual property (IP). Developed by the team behind Molecule and VitaDAO, Bio Protocol aims to establish an on-chain scientific economy by leveraging decentralised funding mechanisms, tokenised incentives, and liquidity solutions for biotech innovation. The BIO token grants holders access to a network of scientific communities and IP assets, facilitating broader participation in the DeSci ecosystem. By providing a more transparent and community-driven approach to biotech funding and ownership, Bio Protocol seeks to disrupt traditional models of research financing and commercialisation, fostering a more accessible and efficient landscape for scientific advancement.
Hippocrat
Hippocrat is a decentralised patient network designed to empower individuals by facilitating knowledge-sharing and emotional support within patient communities. By leveraging Web3, it enables the secure collection and storage of Patient-Generated Health Data (PGHD), ensuring that no single entity can monopolise or exploit this valuable information. Through its platform, Hippocrat connects patients with pharmaceutical companies and research institutions, fostering collaborative efforts in medical research and drug development, particularly for incurable diseases. Additionally, it supports self-management of health conditions, allowing patients to take proactive steps toward improved well-being while ensuring that any profits generated from their data are returned to them, promoting a more equitable healthcare system.
ResearchCoin
ResearchCoin is the governance and rewards token of the ResearchHub platform, designed to incentivise and accelerate scientific collaboration. It rewards users for contributing to scientific research by uploading literature, curating high-quality content, and engaging in peer review. The RSC token also enables users to tip valuable contributions and create bounties for tasks such as meta-analyses, peer reviews, and graphical abstracts, fostering a decentralized and community-driven approach to research. Inspired by GitHub’s impact on software development, ResearchHub aims to modernise and streamline scientific collaboration, making research more accessible and efficient.
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