Question
Thank you for the way in which you publish new research papers on the MEA website – along with explanations about what has been found in non-scientific language. A growing number of these papers are called pre-prints and I see that the results of the DecodeME research have been published as a pre-print. Can you explain what a pre-print is and how it differs from a normal research publication?
Answer
A preprint is an early version of a paper that is publicly shared online before it undergoes formal peer review and publication in a scientific journal. This allows researchers to disseminate their findings faster, receive feedback, and establish priority in their field.
Preprints have not been peer-reviewed and may change significantly before final publication. They are typically freely available to everyone, unlike many paywalled journal articles.
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