Want to get started with records? Create your own at try.labdao.xyz
We recently introduced Records: non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that track scientific work — how it was generated and the rights attached to it. Records are data artefacts that represent the creative work researchers produce. Designed to address the unique needs of the scientific process, records ensure reproducibility of computational results and provide researchers with the flexibility to define how they want to share their work.
Records are generated whenever a researcher uses a computational biology tool on the Lab Exchange. They’re great for creating work that is permanent and reproducible, but the transparent and standardised design that is built into the Lab Exchange also has other exciting benefits for collaboration and expansion of scientific work.
We believe that science is only open if it can be built upon and remixed by others easily.
While Records have value as standalone proof of experimentation, their standardised design means they can be stacked together like Lego blocks by researchers anywhere in the world. The results of one Record become the input of the next.
Scientific Lego Blocks On-Chain
Scientists use the Lab Exchange to run computational biology tasks. Once an experiment on the protocol is completed, the input(s), tool and output(s) of the work that was done are stored in a JSON. This data then serves as metadata when generating a record: a token representing a scientific contribution.
The generation of records can be compared to baking. First, a computational biology tool, such as a protein folding algorithm, is containerized and added to the Lab Exchange tool catalogue.
This tool becomes the recipe for an experiment. The raw ingredients (input data) are combined with the tool (a nicely organized recipe) and are returned as outputs (the completed meal). All the data is represented by content identifiers (CIDs), that point to the data that is shared on the IPFS network.
“Literally anyone on the internet can investigate this stuff,” says Aakaash Meduri, developer at Convexity Labs and Core Team member at LabDAO. “It’s open and permissionless by design.”
“I’m essentially giving you the ingredients and the recipe. Let’s say I run a notebook and I generate some novel protein designs [ Try a notebook demo]. All you need is the Record’s CID, and you can re-run the same experiment. With the recipe, you can run it as many other times as you want. Others can also run it and they should be able to reproduce your results.”
Building on the Shoulder of Giants
Once an experiment is completed, the output CID can be used as an input CID to continue the experiment, like scientific Lego blocks snapping together.
Previously it would be difficult to share data and files with another researcher — transferring it from a university’s local hard drive takes time and effort. With records, data is by default already out in the open and quickly accessible. Anybody can build on top of it, or use it to build their work. “I think that’s one of the really remarkable powers of open source and leveraging IPFS for file storage,” says Meduri. “It unlocks a brand new paradigm for how people do science together.”
Opening Up a New Scientific Paradigm
Meduri is aware of the skepticism that some scientists have about NFTs. However, he believes that Records have the potential to revolutionize scientific research — and that the benefits outweigh the risks.
“The very powerful thing about science is that it really thrives on skepticism,” he says. “With Records, you empower people to actually look into the results and see if they can reproduce them themselves. The skepticism is actually a really good thing — Records directly address it by providing the input data and the computation that was done, so anybody can examine a record and try to reproduce the results themselves.”
These data artifacts are designed to create new scientific strategies and new economic systems. As Records build on top of each other they will create a system of stacked projects that could lead to the discovery of new drugs and therapeutics.
“I am excited for the days when people are able to build on top of each other’s Records and spontaneously generate insights that lead to potentially useful drugs and therapeutics,” says Meduri. He envisions a future where scientists are rewarded for their contributions, regardless of their location or status.
“Let’s say some scientists from Latvia or Bangladesh create a Record that holds some really useful scientific data. In the current system, depending on where they are in the R&D pipeline, they might not ever be recognised for what it is that they contributed,” he says. “In a future system where people are literally stacking on top of each other’s Records you could actually be able to make the claim that ‘hey, this person contributed this small molecule or this protein that led to the discovery of this new, really useful Alzheimer’s drug.’ I think it’s really exciting to imagine a world where the scientists from Latvia and Bangladesh are able to be recognised for their contribution to that therapeutic’s discovery.”
