The design and use of biocompatible materials to parcel up and deliver drugs to specific locations in the human body is at the forefront of biomedical research. The collection of articles in this Insight discusses the latest advances and current challenges in the design of materials for the delivery of therapeutics, with a focus on clinical translation.

The intrinsic hydrophobicity of graphitic surfaces and the recent claim of wetting transparency of supported graphene are being questioned. In this focus issue we highlight the latest developments aimed at increasing our understanding of how graphene and graphitic surfaces interact with water.

Greek science has been badly hit by the ongoing economic crisis in Europe. In this focus issue, we highlight the main challenges that are now facing Greek research, and examine the possible avenues that should be explored to maintain its existing competitive research facilities.

The establishment of high-tech products relying on organic semiconductors demonstrates the remarkable technological maturity and competitiveness of these materials. This focus issue explores the latest strategies for improving the processability and performance of conducting molecular systems and polymers that make them attractive for an ever-growing range of technological applications.

The properties of semiconductor quantum dots can now be controlled down to the level of single electrons and spins. In this focus issue we explore how these solid-state 'artificial atoms' have inspired scientists to look at them as possible building blocks for realizations of quantum computers.

This year marks a quarter of a century since the birth of the field of photonic crystals. Largely stimulated by the early works of Eli Yablonovitch and Sajeev John, it has become a principal area at the interface of photonics and condensed-matter physics. This Nature Materialsfocus issue explores the early history of the field, the challenges that had to be overcome before it gained broader acceptance, the wider scientific and technological impact it has had, as well as the new directions it is now moving in.

Nature Materialsis ten years old, and we use this occasion to look back at how authors, reviewers and editors have contributed to the journal. We feature on the cover of this issue a 'word cloud' that shows the most recurrent words that appeared in the titles of published articles, and discuss in an editorial statistics on manuscript decisions and on the geographical share of manuscripts and reviewers. We also list a selection of what we consider landmark articles published in the journal over the past ten years.

The history of the Olympic and Paralympic games has shown that new materials can play a pivotal role in boosting athletes' performance. In this Focus issue we highlight the origins of sports technology, the latest developments in high-performance materials from academic and industrial viewpoints, and recent advances in biomaterials for the repair of tissue damaged as a result of sports injuries.

Spintronics studies the properties of the electron spin, with a view to improving the efficiency of electronic devices and to enrich them with new functionalities. This Nature MaterialsInsight provides a compact, yet comprehensive overview of a selection of topics that have rapidly developed in the past few years.

To ensure that their work gets the attention it deserves, scientists need to engage with different stakeholders ranging from colleagues to funding agencies and the general public. In this focus issue we explore concepts from marketing that could help scientists in this effort, and highlight the latest online tools and services for successful science communication.

Progress in photovoltaic technology could soon mean grid parity for solar electricity. In this focus issue we highlight scientific as well as science-policy strategies aimed towards achieving this goal.

Oxide materials show an amazing variety of electronic and ionic phenomena. In this focus issue we review the progress in oxide thin film technology and highlight the outstanding challenges for the fundamental understanding and practical implementation of complex oxides in devices.