Dispatch from Dubai
On DeSci and what we do at AthenaDAO 🧬🪩
Dispatch from Dubai
I meant it when I said it somewhere on social media - how special it was to be in Dubai during the flood. How many get to say they were in one of the most advanced and well-run cities in the world the day nature brought it to a standstill? Everyone was civilized, we all have insane stories, some more than others, but imagine being there for the biggest rainfall in 75 years - an event more unlikely than the Eclipse. Whether it was climate change or cloud seeding, in the end, it was man-made.
It is incredible how much humans have created; yes the flood was a bit of a cataclysm, but when you look at a city like Dubai - built in the middle of the desert - you realize the ingenuity of the human mind. Man-made rings different, and so we march on on our quest for more advancement.
On The DeSci Summit
First and foremost, congratulations to VitaDAO for the DeSci Summit Dubai; for getting such an incredible venue - The Museum of the Future - and for having such a professionally run event. This is no longer amateur hour and this is what DeSci needs more of. Max Unfried was wearing his best pastel suit and is now a pro at MCing as well as slogans. The “Make Old Young Again” new VitaDAO hat is a winner and we love our “Save the Ovaries” - which he came up with.
Considering the deluge was happening - in hindsight, it was incredible how many people made the trek. People’s FOMO for Noah’s Ark heading to immortality was strong.
The benefit of being in longevity is that it is the default preferred cause of the tech class and having the man of the hour, Zero, and the Messiah of the Network States, Balaji is undoubtedly a major score for the event. As it seems they are on a dynamic duo tour, the only limit is the reality of biology because contrary to mainstream lore - scientists have not even agreed on how to properly measure biological aging.
I was thrilled that Her Excellency, Dr. Mariam Matar, inaugurated the summit talking about biological differences, short of saying “great we are figuring all of this out but all of this will not work out the same for all” was a big win for women in longevity. Look out for a feature on this amazing geneticist. We both agreed that there needs to be more education for women on their fertility.
Thank you to my Alma mater in DeSci, VitaDAO, for the invitation to represent women in longevity. I was honored to be able to speak about all that we are doing at AthenaDAO and how “Our plans are measured in centuries”.
On DeSci (Decentralized Science)
A few key observations:
A lot of people still don’t know about DeSci (even in crypto)
Science, which is long-term, is at odds with web3, which is about the short-term
Users, users, users
Even those who have heard of DeSci still do not understand what we do
1️⃣ A lot of people still don’t know about DeSci (even in crypto)
What is clear is that Decentralized Science (DeSci) is still small once you take it out of the longevity context. Only VCs; those whose job is to know the market; those looking for opportunities in web3, or those into emergent tech know about it. That is great, but when you are at a big conference like Token2049, one realizes how small and early we still are.
2️⃣ Science, which is long-term, is at odds with web3, which is about the short-term
Science takes years and lots of capital. The dream of DeSci in the BioDAO structure is that one day we fund a therapeutic from lab to FDA approvals. This is a grand dream as science is expensive and this could take years. Let’s just say that all of us in the ecosystem are long-term thinkers. However, anyone who understands web3 knows this is not how this market operates.
These opposing forces need to come to a middle ground.
3️⃣ Users, users, users
More importantly, if DeSci is a product in web3, we need to focus on new users.
This came to me in evidence at ETHDenver but crystallized in Dubai. Seeing how many people come into crypto to figure out what they can do or how they can benefit, it is clear that the value proposition of DeSci has not yet become evident for many - unless of course, you are a researcher getting funding or motivated by the mission.
We can build the most amazing infrastructure and onboard more developers, but, without users, all of it is as relevant as Mount Everest was before it was discovered. The “build and they will come” does not work here. The risk is talking in echo chambers and in bull runs - even though people are curious - the market still does not know how to or why to engage.
It also does not help that the market at the moment is about Meme Coins and the nihilism they seem to represent - it feels hard to square this with building long-term.
4️⃣ Even those who have heard of DeSci still do not understand what we do
I am not going to try to clarify what DeSci is. Since it deals with so many pain points in science it would be a post in itself. Instead, I will focus on clarifying what AthenaDAO does.
What we do at AthenaDAO
AthenaDAO is a BioDAO (BiotechDAO) part of the Bio.xyz network. There are various DAOs working on different areas of research. Our focus is women’s health R&D.
AthenaDAO works within 3 verticals:
R&D Funding / Biotech
Community of women interested in the mission
Web3
Things we do not focus on:
We do not do healthcare
We are not healthcare providers
Please note: healthcare and health research are not the same.
We do not collect patient data or put it on the blockchain
We do not focus on basic questions of science, we look for research that could lead to new therapeutics, diagnostics, or treatments.
R&D Funding / Biotech
We support research that could lead to new therapeutics for women through funding and by leveraging our network.
What does this mean?
For example - we believe that if we were able to figure out how to do heart transplants, we will figure out new therapeutics to manage or delay menopause, find diagnostics for endometriosis, or solve the fertility crisis, amongst many other black boxes in the area of women’s biomedical research.
All of this needs scientific research, so that is what we look to fund; “translational” health research in women’s health. IP needed to bring research to market.
We have funded and evaluated over 300 research and startup projects in Fertility, Ovarian Aging, PCOS, Endometriosis, Gynaecological Oncology, and other various areas.
Consider Athena as a research hub for IP in women’s health research.
How it works:
An academic submits a research project during a call for submissions for funding in a research area. For example, they may submit a project on Ovarian Aging - which impacts both fertility and menopause.
We evaluate the project within the DAO using our team of geneticists, molecular biologists, neuroscientists, pharmacologists, biotech, and Pharma experts. Yes, our team has all these kinds of mission-aligned members.
We send the top projects with the most potential for impact to senior review outside the DAO. AKA - becoming a solution in the area of research, such as Ovarian Aging.
If all is good it culminates on an IP-NFT which represents the funding of potential key therapeutics.
Community of women interested in the mission
Most people, even women, do not know - but women’s health is overlooked. The reason your doctor says we don’t know, it is just your hormones, and so on and so forth is because we haven't done the research needed to give you answers.
So from researchers to women, those who want to figure out solutions or are interested in truly changing the paradigm join our mission.
Web3
All of the above is powered by the blockchain. Why the blockchain? Because it allows community participation.
A foundation answers to philanthropists, a VC fund to LPs. We answer to the community of members who hold our governance token.
For all the bad press - all institutional players talk about how the future is tokenization. In no other mechanism can all types of people aligned in a mission participate this way. The innovation of using the blockchain to fund and hold scientific research Intellectual Property (IP) and a way to develop science is one of the most impactful use cases of the blockchain.
It’s not about women only - it is about the future of humanity
In most advanced economies it is already well below the replacement rate of 2.1, where the population replaces itself from one generation to the next, taking into account mortality. FT
Do you care about depopulation and the Global Fertility Crisis?
We are 100% working on this by looking for all the next generation of Reproductive Technologies that could help bring more babies into the world. Our systems biology approach allows us to have a complete view of the bottlenecks and roadblocks in science we need to get there.
Think of it this way: Startups focus on an area.
AthenaDAO is working in system biology - we look for all parts of the equation.
This summer we are getting ready for our most exciting call for submissions yet, and hope that those looking for pioneering technologies join us as a contributor, funder, advisor, or simply a member. Here is a hint:
Are you curious how you can get involved? Have ideas? Have more questions? Want to collaborate? Join this live chat this Thursday, May 2nd at 10 am ET / 4pm CET on X. SET REMINDER 👉 HERE
Our community is always open - join us on Discord.
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