I found you on the 23andme Roots advisers.  I was one of the lucky ones to get a free kit at the National Urban League conference in Boston a few weeks ago.  I was amazed at how much information I was able to get from 23andme.  The relative finder blew my mind.  Since then I have researched my family tree up to 7 generations and have linked one to Africa.  My family however doesn’t share the same enthusiasm as I do and wonder why I’m asking so many questions about the past.  They are even more skeptical of the dna testing and say they would never do something like that.  Anyway, keep doing what you doin!

Adisa

http://www.smartplanet.com/technology/blog/scie…

https://www.23andme.com/store/

I'm trying to get out the word to anyone who might be on the fence because of price.

No I want a lower price for to be available for everyone who can't afford to fork over >=50% of a months rent for genetic studies. A large number of AfAm's happen to fall into this group.

“A likely answer is that 75% of the population is european and only 12.4% was African American. Considering a disperse population, it would be easier to find a sample from 75% than 12.4%. With the study conducted on this sample, researchers can continue with smaller samples of other races with smaller percentages of the population.”

if 75% of the population is European, you might suspect that researchers and geneticists have plenty of European samples to work with, no? Why, then, continue devoting money for studies to adding more European samples? As a researcher, would you not want a complete picture of the human genome and its mutations, rather than a narrow look at one specific mutation (European) and its offshoots?

“If they could offer it at 99$ and cover costs + a decent profit to the investors who provided them with the capital to start the company, I think they would.”

I would prefer they reduce the pricing of current kits rather than give away free kits as they have done.

“Ancestry.com offers a 99$ test. DNATribes offers a 150$ test.”

Neither of them offer health data. African American's are prone to a slew of different health conditions and being able to identify which of these conditions one should watch for would not only be useful, it could possibly be life saving.

Studies have no cost barrier. You dont pay to be in a study.. Most of the time, they pay you. These are generally sponsored by grants and conducted by individuals at colleges. A likely answer is that 75% of the population is european and only 12.4% was African American. Considering a disperse population, it would be easier to find a sample from 75% than 12.4%. With the study conducted on this sample, researchers can continue with smaller samples of other races with smaller percentages of the population.

I do agree that the price is a high barrier to entry and that with advancements, it should be lowered. But this price is most likely due to high costs associated with the technology. If they could offer it at 99$ and cover costs + a decent profit to the investors who provided them with the capital to start the company, I think they would.

Also, there are alternatives to 23andme. Ancestry.com offers a 99$ test. DNATribes offers a 150$ test. This technology is still in development and has not been perfected. One day tests will be affordable for everyone (including me). I do think 23andMe should have the right to give away tests based on their criteria, without criticism. I do not think this was meant to give kits to people who could afford them rather than to those that cant(I consider myself someone that would qualify under the “Could not afford it”). 23andMe made a terrible mistake when they didnt define the criteria and now everybody is creating theories from “Those with terrible diseases got the test” to “Those that beta tested relative finder were given the test”.