The Pros and Cons of Decentralized Science

Scientific research & publishing are gruelling tasks that extend outside the scope of science itself. Centralised publications abound in archaic practices that span from submitting a paper to getting it peer-reviewed and finally published, process which may take even up to years. In addition, research requires funding from very early stages of pursuing an idea, all the way to its finality (i.e. clinical trial or real-life applications). In TradSci (traditional science), funding is usually obtained once progress has already been achieved or when a startup has been formed.
DeSci (decentralised science) sets out to change this paradigm by funding early stage research via DAOs. When it comes to scientific publications, peer reviewing is also decentralised and incentivised, considerably speeding up the process. Moreover, contributions can be clearly retraced, avoiding false claims over IP, and the research itself becomes much more easily accessible and disseminated.

We were joined by Vincent Weisser & Laurence Ion, stewards of Vita DAO, to discuss the advantages of DeSci in general, and the progress of longevity research in particular.

Topics covered in this episode:

• Vincent’s background and his interest in longevity
• Laurence’s background and his interest in biotech
• The purpose of DeSci
• Which science branch is better suited for DeSci
• How DeSci fixes contribution acknowledgement & incentive misalignment
• From research idea to startup via DeSci funding
• $VITA token utility
• Accelerating scientific publishing via DeSci
• How IP is attributed in a DeSci setting
• Project review and governance in Vita DAO

Episode links:

• Vincent Weisser
• Laurence Ion
• Vita DAO
• Molecule DAO
• Vita DAO projects
• Molecule
• Bio DAO launchpad
• The Longevity Prize
• The Longevity Decentralized Review

This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst & Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/488