DeSci: Web3.0 empowers a new opportunity for scientific research

Source: Jishi Communication

Abstract

The allocation of traditional scientific research funds is often controlled by small, closed, centralized groups, which have certain restrictions in terms of regulation and efficiency, which will further affect the efficiency of scientific research results and the exploration of value potential. In response to these issues, the industry has recently given rise to the Decentralized Science (DeSci) movement, which aims to use Web 3.0 systems to build a public infrastructure for funding, creating, regulating, validating, storing, and disseminating scientific knowledge fairly and equitably. In the simplest terms, DeSci provides a more Web3.0 thinking solution for scientific research fundraising, supervision, review, research promotion and timely decision-making. Completely different from the operation mode of traditional scientific research, users in the Web 3.0 world have become the promoters of scientific research, and the market has become the core driving force. This is a new outlet for the industry. Of course, as a new thing, the risks of DeSci are also obvious, such as data fraud in the scientific research process, platform security, and other risks from the outside (such as external attacks) will have an immeasurable impact on the quality of scientific research, risk spillover, etc.

Pumpscience promotes longevity research and represents the recent rise of the DeSci industry. Currently, Pumpscience enables anyone to conduct a longevity experimental study, providing an idea of an intervention (drug, or multiple drugs) to be tested, as well as token incentives based on the Solana platform. Drug developers can raise money for experiments, and others can bet on which intervention will extend the lifespan of the different model organisms being tested. To fund an experiment for a particular intervention, drug developers have launched a token that represents a portion of the rights to a mixture of drugs that can be sold to pay for the experiment. The rights to the interventions developed on the platform can be authorized, and these interventions can be sold by chemical suppliers as supplements or research chemicals. All projects on Pumpscience are decentralized from launch to implementation, and DeSci's model is structured at all stages, and at each stage: funding preparation, decision-making, regulation, and market operations are driven by the role of the cryptocurrency market, and are carried out in a fully developed and decentralized manner.

The core of Pumpscience is the driving force of the cryptocurrency market, which uses market forces to fully tap the market value of each link and promote the rapid development of scientific research in terms of funding (and funding threshold), creativity, regulation and decision-making. For example, compounds can be formulated into a final product at any stage of the research process (if the company in question wishes to do so). This is also very imaginative, and we can be open to thinking: in the process of scientific research experiments in biological sciences and even in other fields, some intermediate data and products will also have a certain application market, for example, although the chemical is not the ultimate ideal target, it may be the compound (catalyst or other intermediate products required for production) required by other manufacturers. Relevant companies can buy tokens in the token market, pushing up the price as a means of intervention, providing a milestone basis for a possible effective product in the next stage. At the same time, it is possible to buy out the relevant product production/sales authorization. Although this is not the ultimate goal of the experiment, the market value of its intermediate process is well unleashed.

It can be said that DeSci decentralizes every step of the creative/leading and advancing process of scientific research (as well as decision-making at each stage) and supervision of industrial transformation. This flywheel model will undoubtedly fully unleash the efficiency and energy of Web 3.0.

Risk warning: Blockchain technology development is not up to expectations; uncertainty of regulatory policies; Web3.0 business model implementation is not as expected.

1**. Core Insights**

The allocation of traditional scientific research funds is often controlled by small closed centralized groups, which have certain restrictions in terms of regulation and efficiency, which will further affect the efficiency of scientific research results and the exploration of value potential. In response to these issues, the industry has recently given rise to the Decentralized Science (DeSci) movement, which aims to use Web 3.0 systems to build a public infrastructure for funding, creating, regulating, validating, storing, and disseminating scientific knowledge fairly and equitably. Different from the decentralized crowdfunding of funds in the early years, DeSci is quite open in terms of funds, creativity, research ideas and even market support, with more Web3.0 thinking, fully exploring the efficiency and output of scientific research, and sharing rights and interests with decentralized Web3.0 ecological users.

Of course, as a new phenomenon, the risks of DeSci are also evident, such as issues like data falsification in the research process, platform security, and other external risks (such as external attacks), which can have immeasurable impacts on research quality and risk spillover.

This article introduces the operating model of typical representative projects of DeSci and analyzes its development potential.

2. DeSci: Empowering Scientific Research with Web3.0

Decentralized Science (DeSci) is a movement aimed at building public infrastructure for the fair and equal funding, creation, regulation, confirmation, storage, and dissemination of scientific knowledge using Web3.0. In simple terms, DeSci provides a Web3.0-based solution for funding scientific research (as well as regulation, auditing, and various forms of assistance), making Web3.0 a new accelerator for scientific research. Completely different from the operational model of traditional scientific research, users in the Web3.0 world become the driving force behind scientific research, and it is conducted in a decentralized manner.

2.1 Progress of DeSci Compared to GitCoin: Fully Decentralized Structure Project Process

Gticoin is a decentralized collaboration platform built on top of Ethereum, which provides a development collaboration platform for developers and a donation platform for investors (cryptocurrency donations). It can be simply understood as a crowdfunding and sharing platform for the project's code and funds. In return, the project token airdrop is carried out to funders, which is very Web3.0 style, which is an early decentralized financing and incubation model.

During the implementation of the funding program, projects require not just one-time funding but a series of financing rounds arranged according to different stages of project development. A single round of financing can stimulate the interest of funders, but a coordinated multi-round financing strategy is essential for establishing sustained engagement and attracting long-term builders. By prioritizing financing rounds based on established goals (milestone achievements), projects can attract a continuous stream of funders and co-builders while continually adapting to changing needs.

Taking the project Sei as an example, Sei's goal is to combine the development standards of the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) with the performance of Solana, so that ecological applications can flexibly scale between the two public chains. According to the different stages of development, Sei planned four rounds of financing, and in the four rounds of financing, a total of $1.3 million was raised and allocated to various projects in the Sei ecosystem. Sei Ecosystem's TVL (Value of Locked Assets) grew significantly between July and October, more than doubling to more than $200 million. During this period, the number of active users rose dramatically, peaking at about 65,000 per day.

Obviously, GitCoin is an earlier Web3.0 decentralized crowdfunding platform, which mainly solves the personalized financing needs of different stages of the project, and provides a more decentralized and market-oriented way to integrate financing demand and capital supply in a decentralized way. In addition to providing early support for scientific research (projects) in terms of funding, DeSci is also more decentralized in all aspects of project (research) content, creativity and decision-making, rather than just crowdfunding funds. This is a more Web3.0 thinking innovation. At the same time, in terms of openness of development potential, the scientific research supported by DeSci has more potential and wider commercialization potential, and innovation in this area is also a prominent feature.

In the analysis that follows, we will see that DeSci essentially decentralizes the process of scientific research projects.

2.2 DeSci: A Comprehensive Deconstruction of the Research Process

DeSci aims to create an ecosystem that incentivizes scientists to publicly share their research and receive accolades and rewards for doing so, while allowing anyone to easily learn about and contribute to research. The difference between this and traditional scientific research is significant: the allocation of traditional scientific research funds is often controlled by small closed centralized groups, which have certain restrictions in terms of regulation and efficiency, which will further affect the efficiency of scientific research results and the exploration of value potential. In response to these issues, DeSci is trying to create a more decentralized and transparent scientific research model, creating an environment where new and non-traditional ideas can flourish through decentralized access to funding, scientific tools, and communication. Obviously, under the DeSci model, Web3.0 users will deconstruct the traditional authority of scientific research funders, regulators, and even experimental operators, making them more developed and have different potential in all aspects from the initiation of scientific research experiments to the landing of products.

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DeSci has become a recent trend, and its representative is the Pumpscience platform. Currently, Pumpscience enables anyone to conduct a longevity experimental study, providing an idea of an intervention (drug, or multiple drugs) to be tested, as well as token incentives based on the Solana platform. Drug developers can raise money for experiments, and others can bet on which intervention will extend the lifespan of the different model organisms being tested. To fund an experiment for a particular intervention, drug developers have launched a token that represents a portion of the rights to a mixture of drugs that can be sold to pay for the experiment. The rights to the interventions developed on the platform can be authorized, and these interventions can be sold by chemical suppliers as supplements or research chemicals. All experimental tests on Pumpscience are (for now) aimed at longevity. The whole process of the project from launch to implementation is decentralized, and the DeSci model is structured at various stages, and at each stage: funding preparation, decision-making, regulation, and market operation are driven by the role of the cryptocurrency market, and it is carried out in a fully developed and decentralized manner.

The specific workflow of Pumpscience includes:

1. The drug developer submits interventions for testing and pays X USD in SOL to cover the experimental costs;

2. Issue tokens on pump.fun and use the raised funds to purchase the first batch of tokens:

3. If the market value of the token reaches a certain threshold, the token will be automatically sold to fund the next phase of research and development.

4. These interventions were tested on the nematodes ( C elegans ) on the Wormbot from Ora Biomedical, and on flies using the FlyBox from Tracked Biotechnologies. More experiments will be conducted in the future.

5. Data is transmitted to users at fixed time intervals, allowing users to assess the effectiveness and value of the intervention measures.

6. Chemical suppliers can purchase the rights to intervene from token holders.

At the operational level, Pumpscience's existing research projects have designed DeSci as a "game" to identify chemicals that prolong human life in the most time-saving and cost-effective way. To generate meaningful, high-quality data quickly and cost-effectively, Pumpscience first tests on shorter-lived and less expensive model organisms, building evidence in simpler organisms before moving on to more complex and cost-effective organisms. Consists of three levels:

1. Worms: First, let's start with worms, which are small nematodes about the size of an eyelash. The lifespan of worms in the lab is only 20-30 days, so the effects of potential lifespan-extending chemicals can be quickly observed through worms. High-quality drug screening on worms costs about $300-500.

2. Flies: Next, fruit flies will be tested, and fruit flies can survive in the laboratory for about 3 months. The cost of culturing fruit flies is relatively low (about $2-3 thousand per experiment) and provides more complex biological insights than nematodes. Although they do not have a spinal cord, their low cost and rapid life cycle make them ideal test subjects.

3. Mice: Promising chemical drugs will then enter the mouse testing phase. Mice have a lifespan of about 2-3 years, and the experimental costs range from $30,000 to $60,000, depending on the environmental setup. Due to their longer lifespan and higher costs, only the most promising candidate drugs can enter this phase, where more expensive, time-consuming, but more human-relevant data can be collected.

To fund the game, Pumpscience proposed a fundraising protocol based on a cryptocurrency platform. This protocol will allow for the raising and allocation of funds for each intervention, ensuring that only the most promising interventions can make progress. Through transparent, decentralized funding, donors can directly support the development of chemical compounds that may extend human lifespan in the future.

When researchers (developers) submit new interventions, participants purchase tokens linked to their interventions on the platform. This financing at different stages is based on cryptocurrency market capitalization milestones: as the token's market capitalization grows, the tokens will be sold at key milestones to pay for increasingly advanced testing fees:

1. Worm: Sold $500 worth of tokens when the token market value was $70,000;

2. Flies: Sell $2,500 worth of tokens when the token market cap reaches $1 million;

3. Mouse: Sell $20,000 worth of tokens when the token reaches a market value of $3 million.

Anyone can submit tests for the corresponding compounds for less than $100 without permission. Keeping costs low and eliminating barriers to entry for potentially valuable products entering the market will further increase the number of submitted ideas. The more ideas submitted, the more likely those ideas will lead to valuable products that extend healthy lifespans.

The fly longevity experiment consists of feeding a compound or placebo control to a tube of flies (approximately 15 flies per tube). Flies taking the compound were placed in one tube, and flies taking placebo were placed in another. Your goal is to predict whether the compound will make the flies live longer than the flies taking the control. In order to predict this, you have to monitor the flies, which are uploaded to Pumpscience when they are recorded. You can look at the flies in the tube. The flies in each tube receive either the compound or the control, which is labeled at the top of the tube.

At the end of the experiment, there will be a final score: Percentage Life Extension (PLE). This indicates how much longer the lifespan of animals taking the drug is compared to the control group. The goal of the game is to find more compounds that can increase the PLE of all test subjects. Once the experiment is completed, if the market value of the compound tokens reaches the next milestone threshold, the next experiment will be funded and executed.

Pumpscience's future development plan is to launch more scientific research test content, business plans, and even the introduction of AI agents. At present, we have not seen substantial progress in this area, but the deconstruction and innovation brought by Web 3.0 are expected to bring more interesting results.

The game above seems quite complex and interesting, but at its core, it is driven by the cryptocurrency market as the main driving force. It leverages market forces in terms of funding (and funding thresholds), creativity, regulation, and decision-making, fully tapping into the market value of every link to promote rapid development in scientific research. For example, compounds can be formulated into final products at any stage of the research process (if the relevant companies are willing). This is also very imaginative; we can open our minds to think: during scientific research experiments in the field of life sciences or other fields, some intermediate data and products may have certain application markets. For instance, although they are not the final ideal target chemicals, they may be compounds needed by other manufacturers (catalysts or other intermediate products required for production). Relevant companies can purchase tokens in the token market to drive up prices as an intervention method, providing a milestone foundation for potentially effective products in the next stage. They can also buy out the production/sales authorization of relevant products. Although this is not the final goal of the experiment, the market value of the intermediate processes has also been well released.

It can be said that DeSci decentralizes the structure of every step from the creativity/leadership of scientific research, the promotion process (as well as decision-making at each stage), to the regulation of industrial transformation. This flywheel model will undoubtedly fully unleash the efficiency and energy of Web 3.0.

Risk Warning

Blockchain technology research and development is below expectations: The underlying blockchain technologies and projects related to Bitcoin are in the early stages of development, posing risks of research and development falling short of expectations.

Uncertainty of regulatory policies: The actual operation of blockchain and Web3.0 projects involves multiple financial, internet, and other regulatory policies. Currently, regulatory policies in various countries are still in the research and exploration stage, and there is no mature regulatory model, so the industry faces the risk of uncertainty in regulatory policies.

The implementation of Web3.0 business models is falling short of expectations: The relevant infrastructure and projects related to Web3.0 are in the early stages of development, posing a risk of business models not being realized as anticipated.

This article is excerpted from the report "DeSci: The New Trend Empowering Scientific Research with Web 3.0" published on November 28, 2024. For more details, please refer to the relevant report.