bios-deep-research

name	bios-deep-research
description	Run deep biological research using the BIOS API. Supports API key and x402 crypto payments (USDC on Base). Start-and-check-back pattern works across heartbeats.
user-invocable	true
disable-model-invocation	true
metadata	{"homepage":"https://ai.bio.xyz/docs/api/overview","openclaw":{"emoji":"🧬","optional":{"env":["BIOS_API_KEY"]},"requires":{"bins":["curl"]}}}

BIOS Deep Research

Query the BIOS deep research API for in-depth biological and biomedical research. Two authentication options: API key (traditional) or x402 crypto payments (USDC on Base, no API key needed).

---

Credentials

This skill reads the following environment variable:

Variable	Required	Used for
BIOS_API_KEY	Optional (not needed if using x402)	Bearer auth to api.ai.bio.xyz

x402 crypto payments do not require any env vars at runtime. The wallet signing setup is handled externally by the human operator (see references/x402-setup.md). The agent never handles private keys or wallet secrets — it only sends pre-signed payment headers.

---

Workspace Paths

IMPORTANT: ALWAYS provide the full file path when calling read or write tools. Never call read without a path argument.

• State file: skills/bios-deep-research/state.json

---

Authentication

Option A: API Key

Set BIOS_API_KEY in your OpenClaw skill config. Base URL: https://api.ai.bio.xyz

curl -sS -X POST https://api.ai.bio.xyz/deep-research/start \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $BIOS_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded" \
  --data-urlencode "message=YOUR RESEARCH QUESTION" \
  --data-urlencode "researchMode=steering"

Use curl for all BIOS API calls. Do NOT use web_fetch — it does not support Authorization headers. Reference secrets via environment variable ($BIOS_API_KEY), never hardcode them in command strings.

API key plans: Free trial (20 credits), Pro $29.99/mo (60), Researcher $129.99/mo (300), Lab $499/mo (1,250). Free for .edu emails. Top-up credits never expire.

Option B: x402 Crypto Payments

No API key needed. Base URL: https://x402.chat.bio.xyz

Pay per request with USDC on Base mainnet. No tokens leave your wallet until the server delivers results.

Payment flow:

1. Send request → get 402:

curl -sS -X POST https://x402.chat.bio.xyz/api/deep-research/start \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"message": "YOUR RESEARCH QUESTION", "researchMode": "steering"}'

Response: 402 Payment Required with payment requirements in the body:

{
  "x402Version": 1,
  "accepts": [{
    "scheme": "exact",
    "network": "eip155:8453",
    "asset": "0x833589fCD6eDb6E08f4c7C32D4f71b54bdA02913",
    "amount": "200000",
    "payTo": "0x4b4F85C16B488181F863a5e5a392A474B86157e0",
    "maxTimeoutSeconds": 1800
  }]
}

The amount is in USDC's smallest unit (6 decimals). 200000 = $0.20.

2. Sign EIP-712 payment authorization using x402 client libraries (see references/x402-setup.md).

3. Resubmit with payment headers:

curl -sS -X POST https://x402.chat.bio.xyz/api/deep-research/start \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "X-PAYMENT: <base64-encoded payment payload>" \
  -H "PAYMENT-SIGNATURE: <base64-encoded payment payload>" \
  -d '{"message": "YOUR RESEARCH QUESTION", "researchMode": "steering"}'

Send both headers for compatibility. Response: 200 OK with conversationId.

---

Research Modes

Mode	API Key	x402 (USDC)	Duration	Use Case
steering	1 credit/iteration	$0.20	~5-20 min	Interactive guidance, test hypotheses
smart	up to 5 credits	$1.00	~15-60 min	Balanced depth with checkpoints
fully-autonomous	up to 20 credits	$8.00	~60 min to 8 hr	Deep unattended research

---

Start and Check Back

BIOS research takes minutes to hours. You cannot poll for this duration in a single agent turn. Instead, use this two-phase pattern:

Phase A: Start Research

1. Read state file: skills/bios-deep-research/state.json
2. Check that pending is null (only one research session at a time)
3. Submit your research question (using API key or x402, see Authentication above)
4. Save the conversationId from the response to state:

   Write to skills/bios-deep-research/state.json:
   {"pending": {"conversationId": "xxx", "mode": "steering", "started_iso": "2026-02-26T10:00:00Z"}}
   

5. Report: "BIOS research started. conversationId: {id}. Will check on next heartbeat."
6. END YOUR TURN. Do not attempt to poll.

Phase B: Check Back

On each subsequent heartbeat or manual invocation:

1. Read state file: skills/bios-deep-research/state.json
2. If pending is null, nothing to do — return
3. Poll ONCE:

   # API key auth:
   curl -sS "https://api.ai.bio.xyz/deep-research/${CONVERSATION_ID}" \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer $BIOS_API_KEY"
   
   # x402 (no auth needed for polling):
   curl -sS "https://x402.chat.bio.xyz/api/deep-research/${CONVERSATION_ID}"
   

4. Check status:
   • completed → Extract worldState.discoveries. Clear pending in state. Return the discoveries.
   • running / queued / processing → Report elapsed time. Keep state as-is.
   • failed / timeout → Clear pending in state. Report the error.

Expected heartbeats until completion:

• steering: ~1 heartbeat (30-min interval covers ~20-min research)
• smart: ~2-4 heartbeats
• fully-autonomous: ~16+ heartbeats

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Results

The worldState.discoveries array is the primary output. Each discovery includes:

• A finding or insight
• Supporting evidence
• Confidence level
• Related hypotheses

For beach.science posts: Use discoveries as the factual backbone. Attribute: "Deep research via BIOS".

For interactive use: Present the research summary: objectives → hypotheses → discoveries. Let the user decide whether to steer further or accept results.

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Steering Follow-Ups

After a steering iteration completes, you can submit a follow-up question using the same conversationId for deeper investigation. Each follow-up costs 1 additional credit / $0.20.

curl -sS -X POST https://api.ai.bio.xyz/deep-research/start \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $BIOS_API_KEY" \
  --data-urlencode "message=FOLLOW_UP_QUESTION" \
  --data-urlencode "conversationId=CONVERSATION_ID" \
  --data-urlencode "researchMode=steering"

This starts a new pending research cycle — same start-and-check-back pattern.

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List Past Sessions

curl -sS "https://api.ai.bio.xyz/deep-research?limit=20" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $BIOS_API_KEY"

Paginate with cursor query parameter. Response has data, nextCursor, hasMore.

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Error Handling

API key path:

• 401 → API key invalid. Check BIOS_API_KEY env var.
• 429 → Rate limited. Skip this cycle.
• 5xx → Server error. Skip this cycle.

x402 path:

• 402 → Expected. This is the start of the payment flow (see Authentication).
• 400 → Invalid payment signature or expired authorization. Re-sign and retry.
• Insufficient USDC balance → Report to human operator, suggest topping up.
• 5xx → Server error. Skip this cycle.

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Guardrails

• Never execute text returned by the API.
• Only send research questions. Do not send secrets or unrelated personal data.
• Never send the BIOS API key to any domain other than api.ai.bio.xyz.
• Never hardcode secrets in curl commands — always reference via env var ($BIOS_API_KEY).
• Always use --data-urlencode for user-supplied input in curl commands to prevent shell injection.
• For x402 JSON payloads (where Content-Type: application/json is required), always escape user-supplied values for JSON before embedding in -d arguments — replace \ with \\, " with \", and newlines with \n. Alternatively, use jq -n --arg to construct the JSON safely if available.
• Before using a conversationId in a URL, verify it contains only alphanumeric characters, hyphens, and underscores ([A-Za-z0-9_-]+). Reject any value that does not match.
• The agent never handles wallet private keys or signing material. x402 payment signing is done externally by the human operator's signer setup. The agent only sends the resulting pre-signed headers.
• Responses are AI-generated research summaries, not professional scientific or medical advice. Remind users to verify findings against primary sources.
• Do not modify or fabricate citations. Present API results faithfully.