Experts have hailed Glagsow University's towering achievement

Dundee's School of Life Sciences was ranked in fourth place while Glasgow's Institute of Biomedical and Life Sciences was placed fifth.

Glasgow's institute is the biggest of its kind in Europe with 500 researchers, while Dundee was recently awarded �8.1m to discover new drugs.

The honours came from the prestigious magazine, The Scientist.

The two universities were the only two Scottish institutions in the top 15.

Academics quizzed

Life sciences are defined as all sciences relating to organisms, such as plants, animals and human beings.

The magazine quizzed 2,600 academics from around the world for the study.

The work of the Glasgow centre includes biochemistry, molecular biology, evolutionary biology and infection and immunity.

Our participants feel free to express their true opinions about their employers Richard Gallagher The Scientist

Professor John Coggins, of Glasgow's Faculty of Biomedical and Life Sciences, said: "This faculty has flourished in its teaching and research in Glasgow over the past 100 years."

The survey was carried out by Richard Gallagher, who said: "What makes the results of this survey so valuable is that professionals are providing unfiltered insight into their workplace.

"Our participants feel free to express their true opinions about their employers, and that's what's so significant."

He added: "You know that the responses are really genuine, especially when it comes to the top ranked institutions.

"People don't praise their place of work in a blind survey unless they truly mean it."

The poll was won by the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel.