Patenting of human genes is a huge scandal - How can you patent nature - Should US citizens pay royalties to Italy for Columbus discovering the continent?

Who owns the human genetic code? I think no one does. It’s part of nature like gravity or chemical elements like nitrogen. But the reality in the US is very different at the moment. It is only after a DNA product is isolated, purified, or modified that a patent is considered. Over three million gene related patents have been applied for in the United States alone. The major legal issues are themselves a great topic of controversy because there hasn’t yet been a clear definition of what exactly can and cannot be patented. What is your opinion about human gene patenting