It is assumed that the background electromagnetic radiation is not just a noise, but a structured dynamical environment which is modified by the presence of matter, and, at the same time, promotes aggregations of elements at various scales of complexity. The process starts at atomic and molecular level, and extends its domain to evolved assemblies, up to the level of living beings. The first consequence of this interpretation is the fundamental observation that the whole is not strictly the sum of its parts, but a new arrangement, where electromagnetic waves resonate at frequencies different from those of the components, emitting photons in new energy ranges. The second crucial argument, is the possibility of establishing alternative means of biological communications either by direct way (biophotons), or through a suitable excitation of the electromagnetic habitat. A corollary of this analysis is that DNA can be interpreted as an active transmitting entity, rather that a mere list of crude instructions.