As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, my introduction to crypto actually came via my day job as a life sciences researcher. One thing all bio-scientists spend huge amounts of time doing is maintaining and updating the metadata of microscopy images. (Not that publishers or institutions ever spend time double-checking that this info actually corresponds to the pretty picture of a cell).

At the time, I had just lost my job and was scrambling to make ends meet. Things were bleak. I was honestly considering giving OnlyFans a shot, but then it hit me: I didn’t need to sell booty pics.

For the first time, my PhD had provided me with a useful skill that I could use immediately to start earning cash.

My answer was NFTs.

Essentially, NFTs are just images with corresponding metadata. I could do that! I had hundreds of confocal microscopy images and Z-stacks of three-dimensional cellular structures. I found Thirdweb, started to upload my images, and input my metadata. I tested things out on Rodeo and made £2.50 on my first upload—no booty pics required, just my brain. ✌

I was very pleased with myself.

Since then, I've told all my scientist friends that this is something they can do for extra cash while processing their microscopy images, all while preserving their ownership. However, I have found my bio peeps very skeptical of ‘crypto’—just as I used to be. They politely nod along, but it’s clear they think that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

But I haven’t given up on onboarding scientists. It’s crazy for them not to take their data sovereignty seriously.

Ownership of your research data is fundamental, but academia is eons behind. Every week I receive a newsletter from Retraction Watch, and every week there is a retraction where researchers have blatantly stolen images published on Web2 to use as their own—usually with just a few Photoshop edits or a simple rotation.

So, this is a call to action. If you know a biologist or medical researcher, explain to them that they ALREADY have the skills that translate into the fundamentals of Web3.

They need to get on board—not only for the protection and validation of their work but to enable some of the most fantastic minds I have encountered to join us all on-chain.

Peace out, Byrnes babes.

As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, my introduction to crypto actually came via my day job as a life sciences researcher. One thing all bio-scientists spend huge amounts of time doing is maintaining and updating the metadata of microscopy images. (Not that publishers or institutions ever spend time double-checking that this info actually corresponds to the pretty picture of a cell).

At the time, I had just lost my job and was scrambling to make ends meet. Things were bleak. I was honestly considering giving OnlyFans a shot, but then it hit me: I didn’t need to sell booty pics.

For the first time, my PhD had provided me with a useful skill that I could use immediately to start earning cash.

My answer was NFTs.

Essentially, NFTs are just images with corresponding metadata. I could do that! I had hundreds of confocal microscopy images and Z-stacks of three-dimensional cellular structures. I found Thirdweb, started to upload my images, and input my metadata. I tested things out on Rodeo and made £2.50 on my first upload—no booty pics required, just my brain. ✌

I was very pleased with myself.

Since then, I've told all my scientist friends that this is something they can do for extra cash while processing their microscopy images, all while preserving their ownership. However, I have found my bio peeps very skeptical of ‘crypto’—just as I used to be. They politely nod along, but it’s clear they think that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

But I haven’t given up on onboarding scientists. It’s crazy for them not to take their data sovereignty seriously.

Ownership of your research data is fundamental, but academia is eons behind. Every week I receive a newsletter from Retraction Watch, and every week there is a retraction where researchers have blatantly stolen images published on Web2 to use as their own—usually with just a few Photoshop edits or a simple rotation.

So, this is a call to action. If you know a biologist or medical researcher, explain to them that they ALREADY have the skills that translate into the fundamentals of Web3.

They need to get on board—not only for the protection and validation of their work but to enable some of the most fantastic minds I have encountered to join us all on-chain.

Peace out, Byrnes babes.