Paul Bains (2006). The Primacy of Semiosis: An Ontology of Relations. (Toronto Studies in Semiotics and Communication). Toronto, Buffalo, London: University of Toronto Press. 186 pp.; ISBN 10: 0-8020-9003-6, ISBN 13:978-0-8020-9003-4.

The conditions on the surface of a planet without living organisms are determined entirely by the sun's energy and the laws of physics and chemistry, as James Lovelock showed convincingly (Margulis, 1999).
A planet with living organisms deviates considerably from this scheme. The gas composition and temperature will vary in a manner that cannot be predicted exclusively by the laws of physics and chemistry alone. Such a planet contains incompatible gas mixtures and temperatures whose relatively stable balance is actively controlled by organisms...

…to decide who is first in the ‘race to create life’ requires a consensus definition of life
Both the genetic code and all computerprogramming languages are means of communicating large quantities of codified information, which adds another element to a comprehensive definition of life.

...from linguistic turn to pragmatic turn

For more than 10 years, most biological disciplines have increasingly been referring to “communication” and “language” in describing and explaining interactions in and between cells, between tissues and organs, whole bodies, organisms, species-specific and trans-species interactions. The influence of a linguistic vocabulary is omnipresent and has become irreplaceable. This calls for an up-to-date definition of “language” and “communication” if we are to avoid using these terms in an uncritical, unreflected or merely metaphorical manner.

The conditions on the planet's surface without living organisms are determined entirely by the sun's energy and the laws of physics and chemistry (Margulis 1999). A planet with living organisms, i.e. with biosemiotic processes deviates considerably from this scheme. The gas composition and temperature will vary in a manner that cannot be predicted exclusively by the laws of physics and chemistry alone...