Cosmic 'DNA': Double Helix Spotted in Space Magnetic forces at
the center of the galaxy have twisted a nebula into the shape of
DNA, a new study reveals. The double helix shape is commonly
seen inside living organisms, but this is the first time it has
been observed in the cosmos. "Nobody has ever seen anything like
that before in the cosmic realm," said the study's lead author
Mark Morris of UCLA. "Most nebulae are either spiral galaxies
full of stars or formless amorphous conglomerations of dust and
gas-space weather. What we see indicates a high degree of
order." These observations, made with NASA's Spitzer Space
Telescope, are detailed in the March 16 issue of the journal
Nature. The DNA nebula is about 80 light-years long. It's about
300 light-years from the supermassive black hole at the center
of the Milky Way. The nebula is nearly perpendicular to the
black hole, moving out of the galaxy at a quick clip-about 620
miles per second (1,000 kilometers per second). Magnetic field
lines at the galactic cent