1. Background and Introduction
Since the Enlightenment, scientific research has promoted the rapid development of human civilization. However, with the continuous centralization of the modern scientific system, many challenges have gradually emerged, including uneven distribution of scientific research resources, disputes over the ownership of intellectual property rights, insufficient data transparency, and academic monopoly. These problems have hindered the efficiency of scientific discovery to a certain extent, and even affected the fairness and inclusiveness of science. Decentralized Science (DeSci) is an emerging concept based on blockchain technology, which aims to transform the existing scientific ecology through a transparent and decentralized technology system, giving researchers and the public more rights and choices. DeSci has brought revolutionary changes to the governance model, knowledge sharing mechanism, and funding model of scientific research, and its potential cannot be ignored. This article analyzes the background and development status of DeSci in detail, systematically explores the application scenarios of blockchain technology in scientific research, analyzes several typical cases, and deeply discusses the challenges it faces and future prospects.
1.1 Traditional Models and Limitations of Scientific Research
Scientific research has promoted the progress of human society and civilization, but its traditional model faces more and more challenges and limitations in the current era of rapid development.
1.1.1 Highly centralized funding system
Traditional scientific research funding mainly comes from government grants, private donations or large institutions. Although these sources play an important role in supporting scientific development, their highly centralized distribution method has caused many problems:
Uneven distribution of resources: The scientific funding system tends to support large-scale, hot research projects, such as cancer treatment, artificial intelligence, clean energy, etc. In contrast, rare diseases, basic research and niche fields are often neglected due to lack of commercial appeal or social attention.
Data support: According to a report by the Global Alliance for Health Research (G-FINDER), 68% of global health RD investment in 2019 was concentrated in a few areas such as HIV and malaria, while many rare disease research projects received less than 1% of funding.
Geographical constraints: Applications for research funding are often influenced by geographic and political factors. For example, many scientists in developing countries cannot participate in global research projects due to lack of local funding or international connections.
1.1.2 Monopoly of knowledge dissemination
The dissemination of scholarly knowledge currently relies heavily on large publishers (such as Elsevier, Springer, and Wiley), which limit the accessibility of scholarly papers and research results through high subscription fees and paywalls.
High costs: Large scientific institutions pay millions of dollars in subscription fees each year, while many small and medium-sized institutions and scholars in developing countries cannot afford these costs.
Real case: In 2019, the University of California system stopped cooperating with Elsevier because it could not accept the subscription price, resulting in a large number of teachers and students being unable to access the latest research results.
Information gap: The monopoly of knowledge dissemination has further exacerbated the unequal distribution of scientific knowledge around the world. Only 28% of universities in developing countries have access to complete academic resources.
1.1.3 Lack of transparency in the research process
The results of scientific research are usually presented in the form of final published papers, which conceals failed experiments, data corrections, and exploratory attempts during the research process. This opacity leads to the following problems:
Scientific research waste: Because there is no public record of failed experiments, many scientific research teams may repeat the same mistakes without knowing it, wasting time and resources.
Academic misconduct: The opacity of research data provides opportunities for academic fraud and data manipulation, reducing the credibility of science.
1.2 Decentralized Vision in the Web3 Era
1.2.1 What is Decentralized Science (DeSci)
Decentralized science (DeSci) is an emerging field that uses blockchain technology and decentralized concepts to reshape traditional scientific research and knowledge dissemination models.
Definition of DeSci
DeSci is a scientific research system based on decentralized technology. It promotes the democratization and accessibility of scientific research through transparent processes, trustless mechanisms and open sharing.
Core Features
Transparency: All research processes, data, and decisions are publicly recorded on the blockchain to ensure that information is transparent and cannot be tampered with.
Decentralization: Relying on smart contracts and algorithmic rules rather than traditional centralized management agencies reduces the possibility of human intervention.
Accessibility: Any capable researcher or member of the public can participate in scientific research through the DeSci ecosystem without relying on specific authoritative institutions.
1.2.2 DeSci’s Subversion of Traditional Model
Open Funding
DeSci uses decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) and token economic incentive mechanisms to ensure that scientific research funding is no longer limited to a few authoritative institutions.
Democratizing the management of intellectual property
Researchers can directly control their research results through non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and maximize their value in the global market.
2. Key technologies and application scenarios of DeSci
2.1 DeSci’s core technology
The realization of decentralized science is inseparable from the support of blockchain technology and its related tools. The following are several core technologies and their specific applications in the DeSci ecosystem:
2.1.1 Blockchain Technology
Immutability of data records
Blockchains distributed ledger technology ensures that every data point in scientific research can be traced, eliminating data tampering and academic fraud.
Practical application: In drug research and development, blockchain can record every upload of experimental data to ensure the reliability of research results.
Smart Contracts
Smart contracts are code-based, self-executing agreements that are suitable for the allocation of grant funds, intellectual property management, and collaborative project agreements.
Example: Researchers can use smart contracts to require funders to automatically release funds after reaching milestones, reducing manual intervention.
2.1.2 Distributed Storage
Advantages of decentralized storage technology
Traditional centralized storage faces the risk of data loss and hacker attacks, while distributed storage systems such as IPFS and Arweave provide more secure and reliable solutions.
Case Study: A long-term data monitoring project on climate change uses IPFS storage to ensure long-term data accessibility.
Cost sharing mechanism for data storage
Distributed storage shares storage costs across network nodes, eliminating the need for scientific research teams to bear high storage costs.
2.1.3 Encryption Technology
Privacy protection: Zero-knowledge proof technology allows researchers to prove the authenticity of their research to funders without disclosing the specific content of the data.
Case: A medical researcher used zero-knowledge proof to share anonymous patient data to support scientific research without worrying about privacy leaks.
Decentralized identity authentication (DID): DID technology provides researchers with a reliable identity authentication mechanism without relying on traditional authentication agencies.
2.2 Main application scenarios of DeSci
2.2.1 Decentralized Funding
Decentralized scientific funding platforms allow researchers to raise funds directly from the global community, breaking through the limitations of traditional funding systems.
Decentralized Funding Platforms: DeSci platforms like Molecule promote rapid development of rare disease and basic research through community voting and token incentives.
Diversified funding sources: Funding sources are no longer limited to the government or large institutions, and the general public can also participate directly.
Transparency in fund use: Every flow of funds is recorded through blockchain to ensure that the funds are used for the project research itself.
3. Application Cases of Decentralized Science
3.1 Molecule Project: Pioneer in Decentralized Drug Development
Molecule is a decentralized platform that aims to redefine the drug development process through decentralized funding, collaboration, and intellectual property management. It injects new vitality into the pharmaceutical industry through blockchain technology, especially NFT and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO).
3.1.1 Project Overview
Molecule provides a new way to organize and fund drug research and development projects. Its core innovation is to convert intellectual property (IP) into digital assets, issue them in the form of NFTs, and manage and trade them in a decentralized manner. In this way, researchers, investors, and pharmaceutical companies can directly participate in the entire process of drug development, breaking the pattern of concentrated resources in the traditional pharmaceutical industry.
3.1.2 Funding and cooperation models
Molecule allows project owners to raise funds directly from the community, using the core technology DeSci DAO. These decentralized autonomous organizations can provide funding, experimental support, and other necessary resources for scientific research projects. On the platform, funds will be released based on milestones and results to ensure transparent and efficient use of funds.
Case: In 2020, an innovative drug development project on Molecule successfully raised more than $1 million in funding. These funds came from individual and institutional investors around the world, who participated in decision-making through DAO to ensure transparency in fund allocation and project progress.
3.1.3 Intellectual Property Management
Molecule uses NFT tokenization technology to convert intellectual property rights (such as research results, patents, etc.) in the drug development process into NFTs, ensuring that all participants can directly enjoy the benefits. This not only improves the transparency of intellectual property rights, but also ensures the distribution of benefits to all relevant parties after the drug is launched.
Case analysis: A new drug developed by a pharmaceutical company was successfully patented. The Molecule platform converted the patent into NFT and distributed all rights and interests to the original researchers, investors and other stakeholders. In the end, the new drug was successfully launched and brought considerable returns to all participants.
3.2 DeSci and Academic Publishing: The Rise of Decentralized Publishing Platforms
3.2.1 Challenges of decentralized academic publishing
One of the main challenges of traditional academic publishing is the high subscription fees and paywalls that often hinder the dissemination of academic results worldwide. Academic journals and publishers make profits by charging for academic papers, which makes many academic resources unaffordable for non-wealthy countries and small and medium-sized scientific research institutions.
Problem Analysis: In 2020, the global academic publishing market had revenue of approximately $25 billion, of which approximately 50% came from academic journal subscription fees. With the popularization of the Internet and digitalization, the monopoly of this industry has become increasingly serious. Publishers have further exacerbated information inequality in the global academic community by controlling access to journal content.
3.2.2 The emergence of decentralized publishing platforms
Decentralized publishing platforms such as Arweave and Open Science Chain aim to break this dilemma. Through blockchain technology, these platforms can provide permanent storage, decentralized content verification, and copyright management. This model ensures the free dissemination of academic achievements while also providing authors with a more transparent and fair profit distribution mechanism.
Case: Arweave is a decentralized storage platform that aims to permanently store academic papers and scientific research data through its innovative blockchain technology. Unlike traditional publishing platforms, Arweaves storage fees are low and can be stored permanently with a one-time payment. This provides researchers with an innovative way to publish and share their work without being restricted by traditional academic publishers.
3.2.3 Direct interaction between researchers and the community
Decentralized publishing platforms not only reduce the cost of academic publishing, but also build a direct bridge between researchers and the global academic community. Researchers can directly publish their papers through the platform, receive peer review, and participate in interdisciplinary collaboration.
Case analysis: On decentralized academic publishing platforms, researchers can not only publish their papers freely, but also get real-time feedback and peer review through the platform. This instant academic interaction accelerates the dissemination of scientific discoveries and improves the reliability of research results.
3.3 Synergy of the ecosystem: the combination of decentralized scientific research and Web3 technology
Decentralized science is not limited to a single field, but is closely integrated with the broader Web3 technology ecosystem. The combination of technologies such as blockchain, cryptocurrency, and decentralized finance (DeFi) with scientific research is driving fundamental changes in the way global scientific research is conducted.
3.3.1 DeFi and scientific research funding
DeFi provides a new funding mechanism for scientific research. Through decentralized financial platforms, scientific research projects can issue scientific research tokens or obtain funding through DAOs. These tokens not only represent the flow of funds, but can also serve as shares of scientific research projects, allowing investors and participants to share scientific research results.
Case analysis: In 2021, the worlds first decentralized DeFi platform for funding scientific research projects was launched. Researchers issue special scientific research tokens through the platform, which can not only provide financial support for scientific research projects, but also allow token holders to share the benefits of successful projects.
3.3.2 Decentralized Market and Innovation Incentives
Decentralized markets (such as OpenBazaar and Opensea) provide researchers with an innovative sales channel. Researchers can directly sell their research results through decentralized markets, avoiding the high intermediary fees of traditional publishers.
Case analysis: Scientists use platforms such as OpenBazaar to directly sell their research results, experimental data or research tools as NFTs. In this way, they can not only obtain immediate financial returns, but also promote their research results globally.
4. Challenges and Future Development of Decentralized Science
4.1 Challenges
4.1.1 Maturity of technology and infrastructure
Although blockchain technology and decentralized tools are developing rapidly, their application in scientific research still faces many technical challenges:
Technical complexity: For many researchers, understanding and using technologies such as blockchain and smart contracts may require a certain technical foundation. Therefore, how to enable researchers to easily use these technologies will be the key to the future development of decentralized science.
Infrastructure construction: The infrastructure of decentralized platforms still needs more support. For example, decentralized storage solutions require greater storage capacity and higher efficiency, while decentralized computing resources are still not comparable to traditional cloud computing platforms.
4.1.2 Legal and regulatory issues
The application of blockchain technology and decentralized models also faces considerable challenges in terms of law and regulation. In particular, different countries have very different regulatory policies on digital currencies, decentralized finance, and blockchain technology, which complicates cross-border cooperation and global promotion.
Case analysis: There are significant differences in the regulatory policies on cryptocurrencies between Europe and the United States, which may affect cross-border cooperation and capital flows in decentralized scientific research projects.
4.1.3 Community Acceptance
Although decentralized science has great potential, it remains unknown whether it can be accepted by the global scientific research community. The traditional way of thinking of researchers and academic institutions may conflict with the decentralized and open culture.
Case: Although decentralized platforms such as Molecule have achieved certain success in the scientific research circle, most traditional scientific research institutions still prefer to use traditional funding and publishing models and lack full trust and support for DeSci.
4.2 Future Opportunities and Development Trends
4.2.1 The rise of emerging markets and scientific research fields
Decentralized science has broad application prospects in emerging markets. With the popularization of blockchain and encryption technology, researchers in developing countries will be able to participate in global scientific research projects more equally. This will not only promote global scientific and technological innovation, but also promote the redistribution of global scientific research resources.
4.2.2 Win-win cooperation research model
In the future, decentralized science will promote cooperation among researchers around the world, share global resources through decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), break national and regional restrictions, and promote win-win scientific research cooperation.
4.2.3 Interdisciplinary innovative exploration
The decentralized scientific research ecosystem is not limited to the biomedical field, but can also span multiple disciplines. With the continuous development of Web3 technology, the application scenarios of decentralized science will become more and more extensive, covering multiple fields from environmental science to social science, from astronomy to physics.
5. Conclusion: The revolutionary change of decentralized science
Decentralized science is not just an emerging technology model, it is a revolution that fundamentally changes the way scientific research is done. Through the combination of blockchain, decentralized finance, NFT and other technologies, decentralized science creates more opportunities for researchers, investors, academic institutions and the entire society.
Although decentralized science still faces a series of challenges such as technology, law, and community acceptance, it has great potential for development. With the maturity of blockchain technology and the Web3 ecosystem, decentralized science is expected to become the new normal for global scientific research in the future, leading innovation and change in the field of scientific research.
