A substantial share of the world’s materials research output comes from Asian countries, and the Asia-Pacific region is making rapidly increasing contributions to global scientific research. In response to these developments, the material science departments at Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan (grouped together into the Global Center of Excellence (G-COE)), together with NPG Nature Asia-Pacific, the Asia-Pacific wing of Nature Publishing Group (NPG), publisher of Nature, the international science weekly, have launched this website NPG Asia Materials in preparation for establishing a new research journal devoted to materials research. http://www.natureasia.com/asia-materials/ Nature Publishing Group en © 2008 Tokyo Institute of Technology and NPG Nature Asia-Pacific 2010-03-08 00:00:00 http://www.natureasia.com/asia-materials/highlight.php?id=635 Nanophotonic circuits that combine plasmonic as well as photonic elements promise to unite the advantages of both technologies. 2010-03-08 00:00:00 http://www.natureasia.com/asia-materials/highlight.php?id=632 An elegant electrochemical circuit allows superconductivity to be ‘switched on’ at temperatures up to 15 K. 2010-03-08 00:00:00 http://www.natureasia.com/asia-materials/highlight.php?id=636 Hybrid nano-materials expand the spectrum of color-based biomolecular sensors. 2010-03-08 00:00:00 http://www.natureasia.com/asia-materials/highlight.php?id=639 Biomolecules provide a route to the benign synthesis of three polymorphs of titania.