This Week in the Future, October 31-November 4, 2011

This Week in the Future, October 31-November 4, 2011 Baarbarian

And thus concludes Data Week, that most amazing of weeks. We've been working our asses off, and we hope you've enjoyed our explorations of all things data. Before we all collapse into our pillows and dream of zeroes and ones, here's this week's This Week in the Future contest.

Want to win this information-packed Baarbarian illustration on a T-shirt? It's easy! The rules: Follow us on Twitter (we're @PopSci) and retweet our This Week in the Future tweet. One of those lucky retweeters will be chosen to receive a custom T-shirt with this week's Baarbarian illustration on it, thus making the winner the envy of their friends, coworkers and everyone else with eyes. (Those who would rather not leave things to chance and just pony up some cash for the t-shirt can do that here.) The stories pictured herein:

• A Texas Sheriff's Department is Launching an Unmanned Helodrone that Could Carry Weapons
• Mathematicians Take on East LA Gangs With Crime-Solving Algorithm
• Rice Is Genetically Modified to Produce Human Blood Protein
• DARPA Offers Prize For Method to Unshred Shredded Data

And don't forget to check out our other favorite stories of the week!

DATA WEEK

• The Greatest Data Thefts in History
• PopSci Q&A: Seth Lloyd Talks Quantum Computing and Quoogling
• How Dubuque Is Becoming The Smartest City In America
• Data Harmony: How We Can Turn Piles of Raw Data Into Usable Knowledge
• Data Derbies: How Companies Crowdsource Algorithms
• Four Lessons About Data From Ireland's Biggest Bookmaker
• The Ten Most Amazing Databases in the World
• What Are You Working On Today, World's Most Powerful Supercomputers?
• Bringing Biodiversity Data Online, One Leaf At A Time
• The Popular Science Archive Explorer
• Q&A: Stephen Wolfram on the Power and Challenge of Big Data
• Recording A Century of Night Skies Through A Scanner Darkly
• This Man Could Rule the World
• Can Technology Save the Military From a Data Deluge?
• See The Data-Centric Universe, Then and Now
• Timeline: The Advance of the Data Civilization
• The Santa Cruz Experiment: Can a City's Crime Be Predicted and Prevented?
• PopSci Q&A: How Digging Through Discarded Data Uncovered A Real Tattooine
• The Glory of Big Data