VARANASI: When the phone rang at 5.18 in the morning of October 4 at the home of Joachim Frank , who teaches biophysics at Columbia University in the US, the professor remembers waking up with a "pounding heart". Though Prof Frank and his wife are quite used to being disturbed around that time by their dog, he had reason to believe this 'disturbance' was special."For anyone working in my kind of field, October 4 has significance. I knew there was a chance, but I didn't know how big the chance would be," the 77-year-old told TOI during a visit to the holy city on Monday.Prof Frank's sense of anticipation wasn't misplaced. The call was from the Nobel committee giving him "the news" - he, along with Richard Henderson and Jacques Dubochet, had won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their roles in developing cryo electron microscopy, a technique that has revolutionised the imaging of the complex molecules of life.So, when the professor fielded questions from TOI on a range of issues - from the US leadership to the role of intuition in science - his words had the authority of a man recognised for his seminal contribution in pushing the frontiers of knowledge. And, the professor didn't mince his words."The person currently leading the United States shouldn't be in that position. We are in terrible danger because there used to be leadership in the US that had begun to act on climate change," Prof Frank said, answering a question on world leaders who refute scientific findings."As a very large country, we have a special responsibility to give leadership (on climate change) because of the very large impact we have. It is a complete disaster that we have been abdicating our responsibilities. I hope this will end very soon and we would go back to addressing the issues facing us."The professor said Indian scientists had done "incredible work" in the US. On cutting-edge science in India, he recognised that experimental science needs the right kind of equipment, available only in the US and Europe."There are numerous original contributions made by Indian scientists across subjects. Indians have done incredible work in the US. You have heard of the ingenious contributions of people such as Venkat Ramakrishnan (who won the Chemistry Nobel in 2009). I've not seen very much of India, but in Bengaluru I noticed extraordinary enthusiasm for science. Some 800 people came for my lecture while the organisers were expecting only around 350," he said.The German-born American, in Varanasi for the past three days, was forthright about the poor infrastructure in the city. "It's a really fantastic city. You certainly experience the millennia of history here. But it's especially jarring to see to such poor infrastructure in the city. I hadn't expected to see the city in fragments, such as it is," he said.On the role of instinct and hunches in science, Prof Frank's response was interesting. "Intuition plays a very big part in research. You can get very interesting results without noticing it. It particularly plays a very big part in moving forward. I can pinpoint instances in my career when a sudden flash of insight, a 'right brain' moment, provided the solutions to my problem."And for young people doing science in India, he offered a simple piece of advice. "If you want to get into experimental science and the necessary infrastructure is not available in India, then move abroad. And to young scientists anywhere in the world, I would say this: Never get talked out of a sudden inspiration!"Returning to science and research in the US, Prof Frank was again scathing about the country's misplaced priorities. "Science and research in the US are under threat from within because of totally skewed distribution of resources. Instead of investing in military equipment and boosting the Pentagon , there should be a large increase in resources going into human health and public health research," the professor said.Cryo electron microscopy, the technique for which Prof Joachim Frank was awarded this year’s Chemistry Nobel, has been described as ‘Google Earth’ for molecules.The analogy is apt because cryo EM is enabling researchers to zoom into structures of complex molecules that form the basis of life, giving them access to fine details hitherto unimaginable, and paving the way for more precise drugs in medicine.Prior to its development, X-ray crystallography has been used for decades for structural research. It has produced images of around 100,000 molecular structures which form the basis of molecular medicine."But X-ray crystallography requires molecules to be crystallised and that is not possible for a very large class of molecules. As a consequence, that was a very large gap in knowledge which meant that for an important class of molecules, no drugs could be developed, because the atomic structure was not known," said the Columbia University professor.Not only has cryo EM filled the gap, the technique is seeing "explosive application" in all kinds of organic molecules. And, Prof Frank said, it hasn’t yet reached its full potential."I believe higher resolutions can be achieved which will bring more breakthroughs in development of drugs. We can move towards what's called rational drug design, where drugs will fit into the exact grooves of the molecule, making them much more effective. It’s an evolving frontier," he said.