SIX research groups here will each receive up to $10 million for their work in fields ranging from nanotechnology to stem cells.

Three groups are from the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and the other three, from the National University of Singapore (NUS).

The money will be disbursed to them over a period of three to five years from the $250 million in the kitty of the National Research Foundation.

They are the fourth lot of researchers to win these grants under the Competitive Research Programme Funding Scheme.

To be awarded this funding, the area of study has to promise economic and societal benefits for Singapore.

Another requirement is that the teams must be headed by scientists from a Singapore-based public or private institution, although the teams may work with scientists from elsewhere.

The NTU and NUS teams have roped in international collaborators from Switzerland, Germany, Japan, Canada, the United States and other countries.

Read the full report in Thursday's edition of The Straits Times.