Blockchain technology is increasingly finding its way into different sectors of society. Even scientists seem to have found ways to take advantage of the benefits of such technology.
Decentralized scientific movement
Decentralized Science with NFT, Web3, and the Metaverse. DeSci, or the Decentralized Science movement, is what they have called this initiative that will combine blockchain technology and Web3 to improve scientific research. This measure aims to obtain greater participation and funding for scientific challenges. It will be easier to democratize the review process among scientists and combat censorship and the high costs of appearing in journals. Smart Contracts and tokens can also benefit scientists and improve their collaboration.
In addition, DeSci can enable the creation of standards for storing research with a blockchain. Instead of miners, scientists will be in charge of verifying everything that happens on the platform in exchange for a reward in this network.
Decentralizing science
Having a transparent verification process, even when participants are anonymous, could help give credibility to the research. As with all other blockchains, scientists participating in the validation process of the scientific research network could get rewards.
We could achieve a modern scientific revolution by bringing science to the blockchain and democratizing it through decentralized science. It may seem somewhat complex since it is something new that would require some time to adapt. However, as happened with the emergence of computers, it would be time before it would become familiar and commonplace.
At the beginning of the computer revolution, using software for work was difficult. Today, it makes the job much easier thanks to all the tools it provides. The beginning must have given some headaches until the learning and adaptation stage was over. While people were learning and getting used to these automated machines, the IT industry developed new technologies such as Javascript and other valuable packages to make coding more efficient. The same is very likely to happen with implementing blockchain technology in science.
Blockchain technology in science
Generally, the value of each platform is related to the use of the platform. The more users employ the platform, the more the asset linked to it tends to be valued. The effect is known as the network effect. However, the same would not be accurate for DeSci.
In the case of DeSci, those who generate value for the platform are those who contribute scientific resources, i.e., researchers, scientists, or even citizens, for example. The more significant their contribution to the network, the greater the value they receive. This value is obtained from the number of times other users use the contributions of each participant. The greater this use, the greater the value to be received.
In the same way that the adoption and implementation of computer equipment would have on society were not known, it is not easy to imagine the scope of modernization DeSci will bring to science.
The impact of blockchain technology applications and the various tools it has brought could be significant. A person with knowledge or understanding that has value on its own or as part of something larger, even if it is unknown to its author, may decide to share it for the greater good. Thanks to the network, it may reach someone who can use it and, who knows, be the basis or essential part of another discovery. The community can recognize that person for the contribution gained from it.
NFTs will have a substantial weight in DeSci
In the case of DeSci, NFTs will be of substantial value in the future of the metaverse, as they will enable the transfer of scientific research in a secure manner. The metaverse comprises multiple, shared, three-dimensional virtual spaces linked to a perceived virtual universe. There are currently many companies present in the metaverse.
One of those uses is knowledge transfer using Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). There have already been cases of transferred science using NFTs. At the University of California, Berkeley, an auction was held for an NFT linked to documents related to the research of Nobel Prize-winning cancer researcher James Allison. They ended up auctioning the NFT for more than $50,000.
Another example is a set of NFTs sold by the US Armed Forces, including augmented reality visuals of satellites and space iconography.