Cosmic double helix.
File this under the category of Strange and Beautiful Universe.
Magnetic forces at the center of the galaxy have twisted a nebula into the shape of DNA, a new study reveals.The recipe for a DNA nebula is strict but simple. It requires a strong magnetic field, a rotating body, and a nebulous cloud of material positioned just right.
I find this type of "coincidence" at the macro and microscopic level fascinating. We tend to think of the evolution of living organisms as an exceptional phenomenon that somehow rises above the pedestrian physical laws that define our cosmos, but in my mind the unfolding universe and the existence of life are both manifestations of the same forces, and not as unrelated as they seem.
Image courtesy: National Human Genome Research Institute.