Democratizing Early-Stage Research Funding: Inside Catalyst, Molecule’s DeSci Funding Machine

Welcome to another episode of the DeSci Podcast! Today, we’re excited to host Joshua Bate, Founder of DeSciWorld. DeSciWorld is a community-driven initiative dedicated to facilitating the onboarding of individuals into the Decentralized Science (DeSci) space. It provides users with the tools to view, engage with, and understand everything happening in the world of decentralized science. In this episode, Joshua shares the vision behind DeSciWorld and its role as a global hub for the decentralized science community. We touch on Joshua's frank thoughts on the DeSci movement and how open discussion and unadultered knowledge transfer, alongside powerful incentives, are necessary to grow the space. We also discuss the “Proof of Knowledge protocol”, DeSciWorld's upcoming technical product where users can upload data and receive incentives whenever their contributions are utilized. Joshua addresses concerns about spam and low-quality dataset submissions, as well as potential technical approaches to ensure that the data used to train AI remains high-quality and reliable. DeSci World: https://desci.world/ SynapseDAO: https://synapse-dao.webflow.io/ Feel free to navigate through any of the topics discussed in the podcast using the timestamps below. ___ ⭐ Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 1:28 Overview of DeSci World 04:24 About “Proof of Knowledge” protocol 7:07 Ensuring high-quality datasets 14:04 Common misconceptions about DeSci 16:28 How incentives can drive DeSci adoption in Academia 20:10 Underappreciated aspects of Decentralized Science 22:10 Recommendations for getting started in DeSci 24:23 Competition vs. collaboration in the Web3 space 25:48 Scope of biotech 30:59 The future of of Decentralized Science 33:55 Outro ____ If you prefer listening to podcasts on audio apps, feel free to search for "The DeSci Podcast" on Spotify, Google Podcasts & Apple Podcasts. You'll also find all links to the podcast apps below. If you want to join us on the show as a speaker or have guest ideas, please shoot us an mail at [email protected] Special thanks to Lea: https://twitter.com/lealeata Joshua: https://twitter.com/jb87ua ____ Let's connect: Website: https://bit.ly/3d6nh2C X: https://twitter.com/Molecule_dao Discord: https://discord.com/invite/moleculedao

In this episode, we're diving deep into Molecule's Catalyst, an incentive-driven funding system for basic research. We begin by exploring the significant challenges posed by traditional funding models. We then touch on the "Valley of Death"—a critical juncture where many groundbreaking ideas fail often due to a lack of financial support. We discuss why early-stage research often struggles to gain traction and the barriers that prevent innovative ideas from reaching their full potential. Catalyst is at the forefront of addressing these issues with its decentralized approach. By realigning incentives and democratizing access to research funding, Catalyst fosters collaboration and makes science more inclusive and inviting. We also explore the role of IP tokens (IPTs) in decentralized science and how they democratize access to and control over scientific advancements. Additionally, we explain Catalyst’s bonding curve, which features dynamic pricing that rewards early backers with lower token prices and ensures fair pricing as more tokens are minted. This system not only incentivizes early support but also maintains a transparent and equitable funding environment. Tune in to discover the potential of decentralized funding in science and how you can get involved. Whether you're a researcher, an investor, or simply curious about the future of science, this episode is packed with insights you won't want to miss. ___ ⭐ Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 18:04 Challenges of traditional funding models 19:47 The valley of death; how it impacts research 24:30 Difficulty in getting involved in early-stage ideas 31:20 Using IP as a tool to realign incentives 35:01 Why IP is the ideal use case for bringing ideas on-chain 42:05 Decentralized funding in science 48:44 Introduction to Catalyst 55:26 How Catalyst works 59:36 Catalyst bonding curve explained 1:03:22 The negotiation period in Catalyst fundraising 1:09:22 Final remarks ____ If you prefer listening to podcasts on audio apps, feel free to search for "The DeSci Podcast" on Spotify, Google Podcasts & Apple Podcasts. You'll also find all links to the podcast apps below. If you want to join us on the show as a speaker or have guest ideas, please shoot us an mail at [email protected] Special thanks to Jillian: https://twitter.com/JillianCasalini Benji: https://twitter.com/benjileibo Kevin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-noessler Learn more about Catalyst here: https://catalyst.molecule.xyz/ ____ Let's connect: Website: https://bit.ly/3d6nh2C X: https://twitter.com/Molecule_dao Discord: https://discord.com/invite/moleculedao

In this episode, we have the pleasure of hosting Alok Tayi, the co-founder of Vibe Bio.Vibe Bio is a life science company dedicated to investing in biotech firms, with a special focus on rare and overlooked diseases. In this episode, Alok shares his personal story of how medical conditions in his family led to the creation of Vibe Bio, and how the company aims to identify diseases with unmet needs, leveraging AI to find medicines with the highest chances of providing cures. We discuss the complexities of drug development, the advantages of DAOs as an organizational structure and common misconceptions within the Biopharma industry. Alok also shares his insights on the transformative role of AI in drug discovery, discussing its utilization, the methods used for training AI models, the issue of AI bias, and the current limitations and challenges faced in leveraging AI to advance drug development. Feel free to navigate through any of the topics discussed in the podcast using the timestamps below. ___ ⭐ Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 01:51 What led you to create Vibe 02:52 Diseases Vibe Focuses On 04:37 Complexities in Drug Development 7:49 Advantages of DAOs 12:00 Misconceptions in Academia & the Private Sector 16:53 Areas you’re willing to explore with more funding. 23:59 Utilizing AI tools in Drug Discovery 28:50 Bias in AI 32:54 AI Training Methods 36:58 Limits of AI in Drug Discovery 39:56 Implicit Knowledge in Drug Development 49:30 Outro ____ If you prefer listening to podcasts on audio apps, feel free to search for "The DeSci Podcast" on Spotify, Google Podcasts & Apple Podcasts. You'll also find all links to the podcast apps below. If you want to join us on the show as a speaker or have guest ideas, please shoot us an mail at [email protected] Special thanks to Lea: https://twitter.com/lealeata Alok: https://twitter.com/aloktayi Learn more about Vibe Bio here: https://vibebio.com/ ____ Let's connect: Website: https://bit.ly/3d6nh2C X: https://twitter.com/Molecule_dao Discord: https://discord.com/invite/moleculedao

Welcome to another episode of the DeSci Podcast. Today, we're joined by Justin, Head of Growth at Hippocrat, a collaborative healthcare data protocol that aims to transform healthcare by empowering individuals to take control of their health data through blockchain and zero-knowledge proof technologies. In this episode, we discuss the importance of data sovereignty, exploring how Hippocrat's innovative approach ensures secure and private data management, enabling safe and transparent data sharing with healthcare providers. Justin emphasizes the need for decentralized data provision in healthcare, stressing that shifting from centralized to decentralized data management addresses the longstanding issue of individuals lack of control over their health data, which in turn advances personalized healthcare and research. We also explore Hippocrat's collaboration with Research HUB, aimed at identifying potential populations and regions where Hippocrat's telemedicine application, ‘Hippodoc’, could be effectively deployed to bridge healthcare accessibility gaps. Feel free to navigate through any of the topics discussed in the podcast using the timestamps below. ___ ⭐ Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 1:28 About Hippocrat 2:37 Why data sovereignty is important 7:55 The inspiration behind Hippocrat 11:48 Moving from Web 2 to Web 3 healthcare 13:39 How Hippocrat improves Data security 22:27 $HPO token utility and upcoming airdrop 26:58 Collaboration with Research HUB 38:25 How the Hippodoc app works 41:27 Hippocrat role in the DeSci space 45:30 Hippocrat in 10 years 49:18 How to get involved ____ If you prefer listening to podcasts on audio apps, feel free to search for "The DeSci Podcast" on Spotify, Google Podcasts & Apple Podcasts. You'll also find all links to the podcast apps below. If you want to join us on the show as a speaker or have guest ideas, please shoot us an mail at [email protected] Special thanks to Ella McCarthy-Page: https://twitter.com/EMcCarthyPage Justin Kim: (email: [email protected] / telegram: just_in_1) Special Airdrop for DeSci Podcast listeners: https://gleam.io/cLiQO/100-hippocrat-x-desci-podcast-giveaway Learn more about Hippocrat here: https://link3.to/hippocrat ____ Let's connect: Website: https://bit.ly/3d6nh2C X: https://twitter.com/Molecule_dao Discord: https://discord.com/invite/moleculedao

In this episode we're joined by Dr. Sönke Bartling, Founder of Blockchain for Science, an initiative that aims to open up science and knowledge creation through web3. In this episode, we explore Decentralized Science (DeSci) and its potential to revolutionize research, publishing, and innovation! We dive deep into how blockchain technology can transform scholarly publishing by making it more transparent, efficient, and trustworthy. We also discuss how DeSci can address funding inequality by supporting both high-profile topics, such as longevity research, and smaller yet vital fields. This, in turn, enables DeSci to promote diversity in research and unlock breakthroughs in overlooked areas. We further discuss how DeSci can revolutionize the peer review process and explore the future of patents in a DeSci landscape, where research is incentivized without hindering collaboration, and how this can lead to more innovative scientific discoveries. Feel free to navigate through the various topics covered in the Podcast using the timestamps provided below. ___ ⭐ Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 1:46 Blockchains in the Future of Science and Research 4:25 Blockchain Adoption in Publishing 5:45 Underappreciated Aspects of DeSci 12:06 Radical Guidelines for Web3 17:19 Transitioning more Scientists to DeSci 25:26 What limits Institutional Change with Technology 30:22 Incentivising Foolproof DeSci 33:12 Plausibility and Reproducibility in Peer Review 36:16 Standards for Peer Review 39:14 DeSci for Publishing 40:25 The Private Sector and Academia 43:59 Non-monopolizing Patents with Web3 46:36 Further Questions ____ If you prefer listening to podcasts on audio apps, feel free to search for "The DeSci Podcast" on Spotify, Google Podcasts & Apple Podcasts. You'll also find all links to the podcast apps below. If you want to join us on the show as a speaker or have guest ideas, please shoot us an mail at [email protected] Special thanks to Lea Degen: https://twitter.com/lealeata Dr. Sönke Bartling: https://twitter.com/soenkeba ____ Let's connect: Website: https://bit.ly/3d6nh2C X: https://twitter.com/Molecule_dao Discord: https://discord.com/invite/moleculedao

In this episode, we discuss the problem of declining R&D efficiency with Dr. Jack Scannell, a scientist and entrepreneur who is well known for coining the term “Eroom’s law,” which highlights the decline in pharmaceutical research and development (R&D) productivity over several decades. In this episode, Jack sheds light on the root causes of this decline, beginning with a critique of the poor quality of diagnosis surrounding the R&D productivity problem. He also talks about the challenges in accurately measuring progress in drug research, highlighting the "measurement problem" in the drug industry. Jack suggests adopting a model akin to the "Stern Review” to improve the diagnosis of these challenges. Jack also addresses topics such as the shift in the frequency of serendipitous drug discoveries, the Eroom’s law article, the entanglement of science, money and drug development and many more. Feel free to navigate through any of the topics discussed in the Podcast using the timestamps below. ___ ⭐ Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 01:40 Poor quality of diagnosis of the R&D productivity problem 04:01 The measurement problem 09:21 Chesterton’s fence of R&D 14:38 Science, Drug development, Money. 20:46 The role of Serendipity in drug discovery 26:34 Economics in the drug industry. 34:43 Implicit knowledge within Biotech 41:43 Eroom's Law paper ____ If you prefer listening to podcasts on audio apps, feel free to search for "The DeSci Podcast" on Spotify, Google Podcasts & Apple Podcasts. You'll also find all links to the podcast apps below. If you want to join us on the show as a speaker or have guest ideas, please shoot us an mail at [email protected] Special thanks to Lea Degen: https://twitter.com/lealeata Jack Scannell: https://twitter.com/JackScannell13 ____ Let's connect: Website: https://bit.ly/3d6nh2C X: https://twitter.com/Molecule_dao Discord: https://discord.com/invite/moleculedao

Welcome to another episode of the DeSci Podcast. Today, we were joined by Jeffrey Koury, Director & Business Development Lead at ResearchHub, and Jonathan Heppner, Marketing & Social Media Lead. ResearchHub is a platform designed to accelerate the pace of scientific research by providing a modern mobile and web application where people can collaborate on scientific research more efficiently. It aims to make scientific research accessible, collaborative, and prioritized for everyone. In this episode, we delved into the shortcomings of the current scientific research model and the need to make science open to everyone. Our dialogue centered on advocating for a shift from the traditional model towards a more inclusive and transparent system. Central to this shift is the necessity of building better incentive structures, which would drive collaboration among scientists and facilitate accelerated progress in scientific research. Feel free to navigate through any of the topics discussed in the Podcast using the timestamps below. ___ ⭐ Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 1:30 What is Research Hub? 03:05 Onboarding process. 05:40 What drove your interest in building Research Hub? 12:16 Past efforts in promoting open science 18:32 The role of Research Hub in scientific literature 26:19 How Research Hub differs from traditional journals 35:14 Public versus Anonymous Peer Review 39:20 Most contentious topics within your field 48:50 Ensuring high quality science 52:35 Why books are important 59:13 How to get involved 59:47 How Research Hub has evolved over the years 1:05:13 Outro ____ If you prefer listening to podcasts on audio apps, feel free to search for "The DeSci Podcast" on Spotify, Google Podcasts & Apple Podcasts. You'll also find all links to the podcast apps below. If you want to join us on the show as a speaker or have guest ideas, please shoot us an mail at [email protected] Special thanks to Lea Degen: https://twitter.com/lealeata Jeffrey Koury: https://twitter.com/jeffyfish9 Jonathan Heppner: https://twitter.com/EnactJohnny ____ Let's connect: Website: https://bit.ly/3d6nh2C X: https://twitter.com/Molecule_dao Discord: https://discord.com/invite/moleculedao

Today we are delighted to host Seemay Chow, Co-founder and CEO of Arcadia Science, a for-profit research institute with a specific focus on novel model organisms that haven't been traditionally studied in the lab and translating discoveries into commercial ventures. In this episode, we discuss Arcadia’s mission, structure and approach, emphasizing the importance of providing scientists with the context needed to understand the practical applications of their research. Seemay explains how this approach fosters a different kind of creativity among researchers, thus increasing the likelihood of research success. We also explore the limitations researchers face in the traditional setting while further highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of Academia and industry. Other topics we touched on include notions of diversity in science, strategies for spotting the best talents and ideas to fund, and many more. Feel free to navigate through the various topics covered in the Podcast using the timestamps provided below. ___ ⭐ Timestamps: 0:00 Intro. 0:49 Effects of running a for-profit venture on Arcadia’s structure. 3:05 What is Arcadia? 7:35 Researchers limitations in Academia. 11:45 Academia vs the private sector. 16:21 Insights gained from building Arcadia. 27:54 Arcadia structure. 30:38 Diversity in science. 35:24 Strategies for discovering the best talents. 43:28 Contextualizing science. 49:50 Outro. ____ If you prefer listening to podcasts on audio apps, feel free to search for "The DeSci Podcast" on Spotify, Google Podcasts & Apple Podcasts. You'll also find all links to the podcast apps below. If you want to join us on the show as a speaker or have guest ideas, please shoot us an mail at [email protected] Special thanks to Lea Degen: https://twitter.com/lealeata Seemay Chou: https://twitter.com/seemaychou ____ Let's connect: Website: https://bit.ly/3d6nh2C X: https://twitter.com/Molecule_dao Discord: https://discord.com/invite/moleculedao

Welcome to another episode of the DeSci podcast. Today, we were joined by Alfred Brown, co-founder of Desci London, a community dedicated to transforming science through web3 technology. In this episode, we talked about the DeSci London conference (scheduled for Saturday, 23 Mar 2024, 09:30 - Sunday, 24 Mar 2024, 16:30 GMT). This two-day event aims to spotlight the transformative potential of blockchain technology in the field of science, covering agendas such as Longevity research, Rare diseases, DeSci Tooling and Infrastructure, Climate tech innovations, Women’s health, and more. Alfred shares insights into the event's objectives, potential speakers, and details on how to livestream for those unable to attend in person. In addition to the main discussion, we explored the intersection between web3 and science, the importance of community in Desci, and several other topics. Feel free to navigate through the various topics covered in the Podcast using the timestamps provided below. ___ ⭐ Timestamps: 0:00 intro 1:16 Alfred’s journey into DeSci. 04:57 What was your experience diving into blockchain as a beginner? 07:12 Recommendations for scientists venturing into DeSci. 11:34 DeSci London event. 16:55 How to apply for the travel grant. 22:38 The role of art and creativity in science. 28:33 Community-building in DeSci. 29:54 How to find the DeSci London monthly meetups. 30:46 Insights for aspiring Desci community builders. 37:22 Potential speakers for the event. 45:36 How to live stream the DeSci London event. 49:29 Other notable DeSci events. 52:23 Impact of younger generations in DeSci. 56:00 Molecule and Nucleate partnership. 58:48 The necessity of community in Desci. 1:08:09 Outro ____ If you prefer listening to podcasts on audio apps, feel free to search for "The DeSci Podcast" on Spotify, Google Podcasts & Apple Podcasts. You'll also find all links to the podcast apps below. If you want to join us on the show as a speaker or have guest ideas, please shoot us an mail at [email protected] Special thanks to Ella McCarthy-Page: https://twitter.com/EMcCarthyPage Alfred Brown: https://twitter.com/AlfredJBrown99 ____ Let's connect: Website: https://bit.ly/3d6nh2C X: https://twitter.com/Molecule_dao Discord: https://discord.com/invite/moleculedao

Welcome to another episode of the DeSci Podcast! Today, we are delighted to host Stuart Buck. Stuart serves as a Senior Advisor at the Social Science Research Council and is the Executive Director of the Good Science Project—an organization dedicated to enhancing the funding and practice of science. In this episode, Stuart addresses key challenges in the scientific landscape, such as bureaucratic obstacles to funding and the distinction between basic and applied science. He emphasizes the interconnected nature of basic and applied research, highlighting how discoveries from basic research lay the foundation for applied innovations and challenges addressed through applied science inspire new questions in basic research. Moving further, Stuart shares his view on the metaphor of failure in science. According to him, failure is not synonymous with defeat; instead, encountering failures in scientific endeavors indicates that one is posing pertinent questions and pushing the boundaries of knowledge. Other topics covered in the podcast include scientific reproducibility, the measurement problem in science, enforcing data accessibility, and many more. Feel free to navigate through the various topics covered in the Podcast using the timestamps provided below. ___ ⭐ Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 01:27 Good science project main focus. 03:37 Stuart’s theory of social change 10:04 Areas that need improvement 13:00 Recommendation for young researchers 17:35 Why grantmakers tend to be conservative in funding basic science 21:45 Basic vs Applied research 24:15 The notion of failure in science 30:59 Revisiting anti-portfolio 37:37 The value of funding replication in research 43:45 The problem with metrics 46:49 Outro ____ If you prefer listening to podcasts on audio apps, feel free to search for "The DeSci Podcast" on Spotify, Google Podcasts & Apple Podcasts. You'll also find all links to the podcast apps below. If you want to join us on the show as a speaker or have guest ideas, please shoot us an mail at [email protected] Special thanks to Lea Degen: https://twitter.com/lealeata Stuart Buck: https://twitter.com/stuartbuck1 ____ Let's connect: Website: https://bit.ly/3d6nh2C X: https://twitter.com/Molecule_dao Discord: https://discord.com/invite/moleculedao