MRS Communications, a ground-breaking new journal for the global materials research community, has published its first Prospectives Article—Biomaterials-based strategies for the engineering of mechanically active soft tissues. Written by Zhixiang Tong and Xinqiao Jia, both of the University of Delaware’s Biotechnology Institute, the article examines the potential for breakthroughs in the creation of artificial tissues that are mechanically robust and biologically functional. This forward-looking article is the first offering of a unique feature of MRS Communications, its Prospectives Articles. These succinct topical reviews of interest to a broad materials research readership will be authoritative and balanced, featuring new, speculative or controversial areas of research for future consideration.