The Last of Us Part 2 has a new release date and its sooner than you think

When The Last of Us Part 2 was delayed “indefinitely” fans of the franchise were deeply saddened. The game, which was originally set to release in February 2020, was delayed to May 29 because the developers wanted to give players a polished experience. As Shigeru Miyamoto said, “A delayed game is eventually good, but a rushed game is forever bad.” However, in April it was announced that The Last of Us Part 2 was delayed yet again and not due to any technical reasons but due to the ongoing pandemic. Naughty Dog released a statement saying that they wanted to ensure the game reaches everyone, and since a lot of the world is in some form of lockdown, getting physical copies to them would be impossible. 

Now, Sony has revealed on the PlayStation Blog that The Last of Us Part 2 will release on June 19. That is in 52 days as of writing this article. Less than 2 months away. Sony’s other high profile exclusive, Ghost of Tsushima which was scheduled to release on June 26 has been pushed back to July 17 to give the Last of Us Part 2 some breathing space. 

Hermen Hulst, Head of Worldwide Studios, SIE took to the PlayStation Blog and said, “As our teams at Sony Interactive Entertainment and Worldwide Studios approach development milestones and confront a world changed by COVID-19, we find ourselves having to adapt to today’s ever-changing environment. Amidst some disruptions to our working styles, we wanted to provide an update to PlayStation gamers who are eager to learn when our next exclusive titles will arrive on PlayStation 4. As we begin to see an ease in the global distribution environment, I am pleased to confirm that The Last of Us Part II will arrive on June 19. And Ghost of Tsushima will follow on July 17.”

Even though Hermen Hulst sights distribution as the issue, we aren't entirely sure that was the reason The Last of Us Part 2 got a release date. On April 27, a massive Last of Us Part 2 leak hit the internet and while we aren't going to go over the details here, it is safe to say that the leak has major spoilers that will ruin the plot for anyone interested in the game. 

In other PlayStation news, Sony has officially revealed the specs of the PS5 and you can see how it compares to the specs of the Xbox Series X here. You can also check out the all-new DualSense Controller for the PS5 here.

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NEA-backed Personal Genome Diagnostics receives FDA clearance for its cancer diagnostic

Personal Genome Diagnostics, the venture-backed developer of a novel diagnostic kit for genomic profiling of different cancers in lab settings, has received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its PGDx elio tissue complete test.

The test’s approval is another step forward for precision therapies that rely on an understanding of the unique genomic profile of an individual patient’s tumor, according to the company.

The test detects single nucleotide variants and the small insertions and deletions known as indels. Single nucleotide variants, indels, and identifying characteristics like the tumor mutation burden can be used by physicians to determine how rapidly a disease like cancer to progress and can provide essential targets for precision therapies to individual tumors.

The information doctors collect from these tests can also be used to help oncologists identify patients for clinical trials.

The new diagnostics test cover 35 different tumor types.

“There has not, until this point, been one standardized test for all kinds of cancer that any lab across the country can perform,” said Dr. Pranil Chandra, Chief Medical Officer of Genomic and Clinical Pathology Services, PathGroup, an early collaborator for PGDx elio tissue complete, in a statement. “With this clearance, labs across the country will for the first time have an option for a regulated, standardized test that examines a broad view of cancer pathways and genomic signatures across advanced cancers.”

To date, Personal Genome Diagnostics has raised over $99 million, according to Crunchbase. The company’s investors include New Enterprise Associates, Bristol Myers Squibb, Inova Strategic Investments, Co-win Healthcare Fund, Helsinn Investment Fund, Windham Venture Partners, Maryland Venture Fund

“We are proud to have led the first institutional round for PGDx,” said Dr. Justin Klein, in a statement when the company raised a $75 million round back in 2018. “Rapid advances in immuno-oncology, targeted agents, and combination cancer therapies are heightening the importance of tumor genome testing that enables treatments to be targeted to those patients most likely to benefit.”

 

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Carl Malamud, founder of Public.Resource.Org. (credit: Kirk Walter / Flickr)

A narrowly divided US Supreme Court on Monday upheld the right to freely share the official law code of Georgia. The state claimed to own the copyright for the Official Code of Georgia, Annotated, and sued a nonprofit called Public.Resource.Org for publishing it online. Monday's ruling is not only a victory for the open-government group, it's an important precedent that will help secure the right to publish other legally significant public documents.

"Officials empowered to speak with the force of law cannot be the authors of—and therefore cannot copyright—the works they create in the course of their official duties," wrote Chief Justice John Roberts in an opinion that was joined by four other justices on the nine-member court.

Everyone involved in the case agreed that the text of state statutes could not be copyrighted. But the state of Georgia argued that it could copyright annotations that are distributed with the official code. These annotations provide supplemental information about the law, including summaries of judicial opinions, information about legislative history, and citations to relevant law review articles. The annotations are produced by a division of legal publishing giant LexisNexis under a work-for-hire contract with the state.

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DJI’s mini Mavic Air gets an upgrade with improved camera and battery life

DJI had to kibosh its usual big unveil this time out, for obvious reasons, but the company won’t let a little thing like a global pandemic get in the way of an announcement. A little over two years after unveiling its lightweight Mavic Air, the drone giant is announcing the sequel.

When I reviewed the original shortly after the announcement, most of my complaints centered around the product’s usefulness. True, it was an impressive bit of engineering, but that only gets you so far. This time out, DJI looks to have addressed at least some of those issues. Among them, improved battery capacity.

The original’s 21 minutes of life was among my key frustrations with the product. The company says the drone should be able to get up to 34 minutes on a charge. We’re taking a system for a spin and will keep you updated on how that translates into real life.

I found a handful of usability errors the first time out, as well. There are, thankfully, some upgrades on the software front, including, most notable, a new version of ActiveTrack. The feature is said to have improved subject tracking on board, including the ability to relocate an something temporarily obscured by an object, like a tree. The Point of Interest and Spotlight features have gotten upgrades, as well.

DJI Mavic Air review

Imaging is, once again, the thing here. As such, the biggest updates are on the picture and video front. The new Air is able to shoot 4K video at 60 frames a second. Stills can be shot at up to 49 megapixels, while the three-axis gimbal should help alleviate some of the drone’s shaking. The system can also do 8x slow motion and shoot photos and video in HDR. There are new low-light settings and scene recognition features, as well.

Other on board improvements include improved wireless transmission and upgraded obstacle avoidance. The latter is particularly useful for novice fliers, but is a welcome addition for any level.

The Mavic Air 2 is available today in China. Worldwide shipping (including the U.S.) has been significantly complicated by the COVID-19 crisis. Pre-orders are open today and it’s “expected” to ship in mid-May. DJI understandably doesn’t seem especially certain at this point. The system starts at $799. There’s also a $988 version that includes a charging hub, three batteries and a carrying case.

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