On the Genome Hunt

Personal genomics company 23andMe announced on Thursday that it is looking for 10,000 African American volunteers to use its tests, offering to give them the $200-plus kits away for free.

The announcement of the Roots into the Future initiative was made at the national Urban League Conference in Boston.

"Little is known about the connection between DNA and disease in African Americans," the company said. "With your help, 23andMe can counter this trend. Roots into the Future will increase understanding of how DNA plays a role in health and wellness, especially for diseases more common in the African American community."

Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., an advisor to 23andMe, said on the project website, "This research initiative presents a tremendous opportunity for African Americans to learn essential information about themselves, their families, and their ancestry.”

The offer is being made to people of African American descent who are over 18 and have access to the Internet.

In addition to giving African Americans more information about diseases and conditions that affect them, the initiative is seen as a way to broaden the genetic information that is being gathered by 23andMe.

A recent study showed that about three-quarters of those who have used the company's tests are of European descent.

African Americans make up about 13 percent of the U.S. population but only represented about 1 percent of 23andMe's customers.

Mountain View-based 23andMe was co-founded by Anne Wojcicki, the wife of Google Inc. co-founder Sergey Brin.

Click here to go to the Roots into the Future website and read more about the free 23andMe genetic test kits.

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