Post-publication peer review

Ok kiddo, you know how when you do something cool, like draw a picture or build a tower with blocks, you might want to show it to someone else to see what they think of it?

Well, scientists who write research papers can do the same thing. They send their papers to a special group of people who are really smart and know a lot about the same kind of science the research is about. These people read the papers and decide if they think the science in the papers is good, and if it makes sense. They might also suggest ways to make the research even better.

Usually, this happens before the paper is published in a science journal. But sometimes, even after a paper is published, other scientists might still want to give their opinions on the research. They might notice something the first group of people missed, or have a different idea of what the results mean. This is called post-publication peer review.

The good thing about post-publication peer review is that it helps make sure the science is the best it can be. It also gives scientists a chance to learn from each other and make new discoveries.