Higgs Boson Peer Review: CERN Discovery Passes Crucial Scientific Scrutiny

While the big announcement about the discovery of a subatomic particle thought to be the Higgs boson made waves around the world in July as one of the greatest recent achievements in physics, the particle was not officially confirmed as the elusive Higgs.

However, following the publication of the findings in a peer-reviewed journal, the discovery has now passed a critical test of scientific scrutiny.

Teams from CERN, the international research organization on the Franco-Swiss border, published their findings Monday in Physics Letters B after passing a critical review by the scientific community.

Although passing peer review does not quite 'prove' the particle's existence, it does represent a necessary hurdle the teams had overcome in order to "meet benchmarks of accuracy and openness," the AFP reports.

Further tests are still required to determine what the particle is, and whether or not it is the Higgs boson.

For those of you who are still confused by significance of the discovery, or what the Higgs boson is altogether, check out the HuffPost Science explanatory video below.