system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why was it so important to discover that the DNA is shaped as a double helix?
gpt
it was a clue that each half coded for the other half. DNA is replicated while it is single stranded. Each nucleic acid is matched by its pair and the double strand is reassembled.One strand coded for the other. When pulled apart again they again code for the other side thereby reproducing it almost perfectly. 

The helix part is just that there is a twist just as a strand of tape will twist. Any long thin thing will twist, a ribbon, a measuring tape. 

The real deal is that one strand will code for the other to ensure replication. The triplet codes specify which amino acid to put in the chain while assembling a protein.