Last week I had the pleasure of attending BananaConf, followed by DeSci Nordics, in Tallinn, Estonia. Not only would I call BananaConf the best Web3 conference I’ve ever attended, I was enthused by the support for DeSci at both events. We’re on the cutting edge of blockchain innovation and they know it!
I was in good company, with ValleyDAO and Will Entriken (developer of ERC-721) in attendance (I personally geeked when Will opened with the story of Henrietta Lacks, a cornerstone to women’s health science).
Here are my key takeaways from the event:
DeSci is working to solve the enormous gap between what is possible in tech and what is possible in academia.
“Into the MetaHealth” is a great podcast for keeping up to date with DeSci (link goes to the episode featuring Asterisk).
98% of scientific funding goes to researchers over the age of 35.
A large part of research funding comes from public money (governments), yet the public does not have a vote or say in how the funding is distributed.
Time and funds are wasted because negative results aren’t published and thus get replicated.
AI is very good at synthesizing that which is already known (or agreed upon as ‘known’).
An open question within DeSci: do patients care enough about their own health data to engage widely in decentralized ownership?
Use the comments below to share your take.