This Week in the Future, July 2-6, 2012

This week’s Baarbarian illustration seems like the introduction to a new sci-fi opera. The saddest man on the planet plays piano alone in space, accompanied only by his trusty sidekick, an equally lonely bat named Franklin. I’d see it.

Want to win this operatic 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:

• FYI: What’s the Hottest the Earth Has Ever Gotten?
• As Deadly White-Nose Syndrome Ravages Bat Population, Bats Change Social Strategy to Survive
• Inventions: The Piano That Tunes Itself
• Video: MIT Alumni Bring Spacesuit Tech to Temperature-Regulating Dress Shirts

And don’t forget to check out our other favorite stories of the week:

• A Plan For Airships That Might Finally Take Off
• A Topically Applied Skin Lotion That Modifies Your Genes
• Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 Review: Fly Higher, Farther, and More Intuitively
• A PopSci Fourth of July: Blowing Things Up in Extreme Slow Motion
• Hello, Higgs Boson: LHC’s New Particle Looks Like the Real Thing
• Video: Build Your Own Food Helper Gadgets
• Archive Gallery: The Science of Gambling
• The Most Amazing Science Images of the Week, July 2-6, 2012