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"Nature: Decentralized Science (DeSci) - A New Path for Future Research"

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"Nature: Decentralized Science (DeSci) - A New Path for Future Research"

The journal Nature recently published an editorial on Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs), suggesting that the concept of "decentralized science" or DeSci could be a new frontier for scientific research in the future. Scientific research is the path through which humanity explores the unknown universe, but this process of uncovering mysteries requires significant resources and time. In the past, funding for large research projects has primarily come from centralized research institutions or government agencies, but Nature believes that this could all change with the emergence of the DeSci concept.

Solution to Stopping Invalid Research? DeSci and DAO

The current scientific research mechanism has generated negative results, with scientists spending a lot of time applying for funding, leading to many scientific studies becoming invalid. As Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said, "Unfortunately, much of science is fake work. Unreplicable results, irrelevant papers, and even entirely false laws."

DeSci, decentralized science, operates in a decentralized form of scientific research projects, aiming to advance scientific development without the current barriers. DAO, decentralized autonomous organization, is an important foundation of DeSci.

DeSci incentivizes scientific innovation through market mechanisms, which will change the situation where many scientific studies become invalid research. We hope to see research outcomes evaluated based on economic returns rather than journal achievements.

As research progresses, research results are not only shared with DAO members but can also be protected through IP-NFTs. IP-NFTs are very similar to the existing patent system but more decentralized. IP-NFTs use blockchain technology to protect ownership of intellectual property rights and manage the patent fees generated by the token collectively through DAO.

He also launched his DeSci company Research Hub, supported by BoostVC and Sora Ventures, which has become a major open-source community platform for researchers.

Advantages of DeSci: Funding and Transparency

The editorial in Nature mentioned:

  • Simplified funding access: Scientists no longer need to spend a lot of time applying for funding. DeSci provides a more democratic environment for obtaining research funding.
  • Openness and transparency: Under the operation of DAO, all research funding processes and result sharing are public, fully embodying the spirit of decentralization.

Scientific Research Based on DeSci Has Emerged

Many DAOs are now focusing on specific research areas, such as VitaDAO focusing on longevity research, and HairDAO focusing on hair loss treatment. These DAOs not only fund research but also provide direct participation opportunities for specific audiences or patient groups, allowing them to benefit from treatment outcomes and governance.

Challenges Facing DeSci: Becoming a Capital Game Again?

Although DeSci brings many new opportunities, it also comes with challenges. The return cycle of research may be longer, which means increased risks. How to translate these scientific breakthroughs into valuable outcomes is also a major issue. Additionally, with decentralized resource allocation and lack of organizational endorsement, will certain important but less commercializable basic research be neglected?

We know that tokenization is a tool to align the interests of participants, whether they participate as investors, users, or token holders. With DeSci, people will have the opportunity to collectively own scientific research outcomes, rather than having them controlled by companies or governments.

However, this may raise some issues. During the recent COVID-19 period, the rapid global distribution of vaccines was achieved through government investment in vaccine research and pricing strategies not focused on recovering costs or making profits afterward. If today's highly effective vaccines were developed by a DeSci DAO focused on risk investment, they might set higher prices to offset the risks they took during the investment process compared to government organizations focused on public interests.

Similar situations could exacerbate the capitalization of scientific research, causing many who truly need resources to become victims of uneven distribution. This is a key focus for us to continue monitoring DeSci in the future.