the fact that there are also some projects scientifically orientated on blockchain is a good thing. they are going to be pioneers in taking science to the next level.
Are there any competitors in this field? I don't really know any projects that target scientists and their projects. If not, then scientificcoin has got a head start.
I don't see any competitor yet on this platform as I know. This is very hard and require a lot of works platform to be able to get attentions from people out there.