I could see patenting the process to extract the sequence, process it, sequence it, etc. but I don't understand how the sequence itself can be patented. Taking

I could see patenting the process to extract the sequence, process it, sequence it, etc. but I don't understand how the sequence itself can be patented. Taking the notion to its logical and absurd extreme, would such a patent mean that all humans must properly license the sequence before attempting cellular mitosis or is that fair use? Are babies considered pirated copies?