What are we building

A platform for decentralized scientific journals.

What problem we are solving

The DeSci Journals will empower collaborative creation of scientific publications, leveraging web3 principles and technologies, through our platform's digital cooperative model. These communities and their peer-reviewed publications will maintain 100% of their copyrights, share gains and monetize the work of their highly skilled content creators, such as scientists, and technical professionals. These communities and their peer-reviewed publications will maintain 100% of their copyrights, share gains and monetize the work of their highly skilled content creators, such as scientists, and technical professionals.
Nowadays, Science Authors have 0%, yes zero percent, of their copyright from legacy publishing houses. Together these publishing houses generate as much revenue as the music industry, i.e., 26 bi USD/ year. We will change all this. The DeSci Journals is a starting point for Authors to be in contact with a new form of publishing and financing their scientific and technical work.

How we are solving

By creating an alternative to a perverse oligopolistic scientific publication industry which generates 26Bi USD/ year. In this industry, authors (scientists, professionals and, scholars), reviewers and most editors (also scientists) do not get paid for working in the peer-reviewing process of papers for science journals. Authors: 1) pay for publishing, 2) pay for open access and moreover, 3) have their copyright expropriated. Universities and Research Institutions pay shockingly high annual subscription fees so that alumni and staff have access to journals. Scientific publishing houses and science journals have outrageously high publication fees. These fees range from 2 to 6k USD for 1 paper, some charge 10k-15 USD/ paper. Open access is another 2-4k USD. Currently, it is right to say that the scientific publication industry hinders the advance of human knowledge. Paying attention only to their profits, legacy scientific journals: • act as filters to what they believe is high quality research worth publishing, • use high rejection rates which are uncoupled from merit, significance, and quality, • take a long time from submission to publishing, • undermine the expectations of the scientific community and the development of the human society.

How this will benefit the Arbitrum ecosystem

The DeSci Journals stand as a groundbreaking paradigm in the realm of real-world applications, ingeniously crafted to decentralize and elevate technical and scientific publications through innovative business models. Harnessing the power of decentralized solutions, underpinned by Arbitrum, it not only facilitates the seamless scaling of web3 primitives originating in the Arbitrum blockchain but also pioneers inventive alternatives for the broader public, utilizing Arbitrum as the primary gateway to web3 for tokens, NFTs, and related technologies. Our selection of Arbitrum is grounded in its substantial market share, widespread adoption, and the advantage of low gas fee transactions. This deliberate choice positions The DeSci Journals at the intersection of cutting-edge technology and scientific discourse. By integrating Arbitrum, we not only capitalize on its technical merits but also tap into a flourishing ecosystem that aligns with our vision for the future of scientific communication. The adoption of Arbitrum by the scientific community is poised to generate tangible, real-world use cases, amplifying its utilization and impact. This transformative approach to publishing technical and scientific content aspires to reshape societal perspectives, interactions, applications, and investments in science. The DeSci Journals envisions ushering in a new era of decentralized excellence, with Arbitrum at its core, thereby revolutionizing the landscape of scholarly communication and catalyzing a paradigm shift in the dissemination of knowledge.

How receiving the grant would help the development of the project

Utilizing the grant funds, we will strategically allocate resources to achieve the following objectives: Test MVP and Engage Potential Communities: • Initiate discussions with potential communities to explain the details of our technical and scientific paper publishing solution using percentage of authorship, open and closed access and, NFTs. • Understand the specific needs and features required, paving the way for targeted Alpha tests within science and technical niches. Privacy ID and Reputation Building: • Explore privacy ID options, including for instance, the utilization of technologies such as ZPK and POAPs. • Establish mechanisms for building author reputation within the decentralized framework. NFT Publication: • Publish our first NFT paper by using our innovative approach. • Reach out to underserved Communities to garner support and participation.

Peer-Review and Editorial Payment Validation:

Validate the peer-review payment process, integrating digital currencies payments, $desci tokens, and a percentage-based royalties’ model. In fact, on October 7th 2022, we created a pre-token on the Polygon network which we have been using in our @deScier Discord community for rewards and incentives https://polygonscan.com/token/0xB83ac7456Bb239658502e31a351b10054455dc5a Nevertheless, the selection of a blockchain for project continuity hinges on support and timing. At this juncture, we deem it opportune to choose. Opting for Arbitrum appears fitting given our current status of not having deployed smart contracts on the platform. Transitioning to Arbitrum affords us the flexibility to migrate or initiate the $desci token anew.

Building Impact with Arbitrum

This initiative aims to establish a decentralized scientific journals platform, challenging the current industry with a web3 alternative. The envisioned platform empowers scientists and scholars to retain copyright, share knowledge, and benefit financially.

With the indispensable support of the Arbitrum community, we seek to revolutionize scientific publishing, bridging technology, knowledge sharing, and financial incentives for a transformative impact.