Outline the major arguments for and against the idea of patenting genes.

Patents are not granted for products of nature, meaning that genes inside the body are not patentable. However, biotech companies have successfully argued that by removing a gene from the human body, purifying it, and then obtaining its DNA sequence, they have created something not found in nature, and which is therefore a patentable invention. Opponents argue that genes are parts of our bodies and can be identified but not invented. Biotech companies argue that without the protection offered by patents, they would have no incentive for research and development of diagnostic tests.