Super genius design.
This is an amazing piece.

Did a lot of wiring to have an open capsid with DNA strands inside.
Used 1/2” irrigation tube to support the sheath / capsid.

Happy that the long tail fibers were made via several long rows vs billions of circular rows. Thanks, Ms. Susan!

Helpful tip:
Make the beginning chain of each long tail fiber very loosely.
Doing so helps when closing them up.

Challenge:
DNA twists clockwise.
One needs to crochet left handed or work reverse (crab stitch) dc’s, as in DNA Helix
That’s doing it the hard way.
I figured out a simpler way to get a clockwise coil via a series of ch1, fdc.

Clockwise fdc chain:
work a row of fdc, however, make a ch1 before and after each fdc.
work fdc row to desired length.
sl st back down the base of the fdc, tightly.
Shape into clockwise turning coil.

Alternate method:
Make a chain the desired length.
Work dc in 3rd chain from hook.
(ch1. skip one ch. dc in next ch) rep to end of chain.
Work tight (sl st, sk1) back down the base.
Shape into clockwise turning coil.