Molecule team member published in Frontiers in Blockchain

In light of the rapid technological advancements of our time, particularly in artificial intelligence and distributed ledger technology (DLT) such as blockchain, the need to address the pain points of traditional science is becoming increasingly urgent. One of the most significant criticisms is the centralization of funding and knowledge, often exemplified by new publications and research locked behind the paywalls. However, what if there was a way to change this? A way to break down these barriers and open the field to a more inclusive, transparent, and collaborative approach?  

For us at Molecule, and for many others in the community, Decentralized Science (DeSci) represents a revolutionary way to tackle these challenges and change science for the better. By utilizing key technological advancements created by blockchain technology, such as NFTs, fungible tokens, and DAOs, DeSci could be exactly the transformative new way of conducting science that we have all been waiting for. However, as with any new paradigm, the success of DeSci requires a clear understanding of what it is about.  

As a long-time crypto enthusiast with a background in medicine and biology, DeSci has quickly become my primary focus of interest. The potential to accelerate scientific progress and improve the translation of research into practical applications has sparked my interest. However, as a researcher, I noticed that DeSci, as an emerging field, lacks the foundational research necessary to establish common ground in discussions within both academia and the broader community. To address this gap, I conducted research recently published in Frontiers in Blockchain. This post provides a brief summary of my publication, which you can read in full here.

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Defining Decentralized Science

Up until now, the following definition from the Ethereum Foundation has been widely used:

“Decentralized science (DeSci) is a movement that aims to build public infrastructure for funding, creating, reviewing, crediting, storing, and disseminating scientific knowledge fairly and equitably using the Web3 stack.”

Although this definition has served the community well, it may no longer fully capture the latest advancements in DeSci. Moreover, it suffers from inconsistencies in defining Web3 and the ‘Web3 stack.’ Therefore, a new definition was proposed based on an extensive literature review and expert survey:

Decentralized Science (DeSci) represents a collaborative and decentralized approach to science, leveraging technological and infrastructural advancements such as Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), Web3, cryptocurrencies, and Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) to enable permissionless, open, and inclusive participation, facilitating collective governance, equitable incentivization, unrestricted access, shared ownership, and transparent funding of the scientific process. 

This definition aims to provide the necessary granularity and clarity, not only for current DeSci ecosystem participants, but also to foster discourse within traditional academia, thereby increasing participation and advancing DeSci.

Just as finding common ground in terminology is crucial for advancing the ecosystem, establishing shared values and principles is vital for the credibility of any new movement, particularly in science. 

Although closely related, values and principles serve distinct roles. Values can be considered more abstract, core beliefs that define what is important, while principles are practical guidelines that help ensure that those values are upheld. In the context of DeSci, shared values provide foundational ethos, and guiding principles offer actionable tenets to advance science and address existing challenges.

Given the scarcity of publications focusing on the values or principles of DeSci, input from experts in the field was used to propose the following set of shared values and guiding principles for DeSci:  

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The Shared Values of DeSci

These shared values form the foundation of the guiding principles of DeSci, which are proposed as practical guidelines to uphold these values and help guide the advancement of science.

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The Guiding Values of DeSci

The proposed guiding principles of DeSci can also be considered recommendations for how the decentralization of science can be advanced and how new organizations in DeSci can potentially be built.   

These guiding principles can also be seen as recommendations for advancing the decentralization of science and building new organizations within the DeSci ecosystem.  

For instance, by providing incentives for contributions of any kind (e.g., peer review, participation in working groups), collaboration within the community can be facilitated, potentially making DeSci competitive with traditional academia. Collective ownership is also a key differentiator from movements such as open science, where openness and transparency are prioritized but with fewer technological means to enforce these values. If collective ownership can be ensured through technologies such as DLT, researchers may be more inclined to share their work, early ideas, or intellectual property more openly.  

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A Call for Contribution 

While the proposed shared values and guiding principles can potentially help advance the decentralization of science, broader awareness and participation are needed to address the pain points of traditional science. So if you want to contribute to the mission, make sure to join the Molecule Discord server!

Furthermore, if you're interested in researching Web3, DAOs, and DeSci, I’d love to connect! Please feel free to reach out through any of the channels below:

• E-mail: lukas@molecule.to
• Discord: lukasweidener
• Telegram:@lukasweidener

Let's collaborate to decentralize science!