Meaning becomes biologically significant when differences begin to function as signs.
A sign is something that stands in a systematic relationship to conditions relevant to viability. A chemical gradient may indicate nutrients. A signal may indicate physiological conditions. A sound may indicate danger.
Semiosis is the process through which living systems produce, interpret, and utilise such signs.
The significance of semiosis lies in its ability to connect organisms to continuity-relevant conditions that may not be immediately available through direct interaction.
Through semiosis, organisms become capable of responding not only to what is present but also to what signs indicate.
Meaning therefore becomes operational.
Semiosis is the continuity architecture through which biological significance becomes organised and actionable.