The recent Binance Research report highlights the challenges in scientific research and the need for a new approach. The "Valley of Death" causes a majority of research efforts to fail before being tested on humans, and only a small fraction of drug candidates become authorized treatments. The main obstacles include misaligned incentives among academics, funding agencies, and industry, lack of financing, decreased cooperation between scientists and clinicians, and low replicability of scientific discoveries.

The Decentralized Science (DeSci) movement aims to address these issues using the Web3 stack, including blockchains, smart contracts, and DAOs. DeSci seeks to align stakeholder interests and provide incentives to see research through to clinical phases. It focuses on four areas of innovation: infrastructure, research, data services, and memes.

Infrastructure includes funding platforms and DAO tooling that serve as the foundation for DeSci DAOs. Research involves grassroots communities and formalized shared interests through DAOs. Data services include tools for data management, publishing, and peer review. Memes can be used as investment vehicles or direct funding sources for scientific experiments.

While decentralized science has made advancements in addressing the "Valley of Death," there are still gaps and challenges in the current landscape. However, it has the potential to significantly influence scientific research practices. Decentralized science can bring stakeholders together from the beginning, improve cooperation, and ensure ownership of intellectual property. The current decentralized stack is better suited for fundamental and translational research, but there is a need for trustless coordination in the earlier stages of clinical research.



Other News from Today