One of physicists’ great talents—starting with the laws of simple parts (such as atoms) and working up to a complex whole—cannot fully account for cells, animals, or people.

I think that's the core of it. But the author is a "tide goes in, tide goes out, you can't explain that" kind of moron. Of course you can explain a cell's operation through physics->chemistry->biology. We can't explain the spark of life yet, but we can certainly explain life processes.

The fundamental laws that govern matter and energy cannot predict another fundamental property of life: It is the only system in the universe that uses information for its own purposes. Plants grow toward light, microbes swim toward rich food sources, animals hide from predators, humans send giant metal contraptions into outer space.

This is, of course, nonsense. A light source isn't information, life doesn't need information, and plants grow toward light through simple chemical reactions: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phototropism