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Article: Tracing your ancestry: geneticist uses DNA technology to provide a bridge to the past for people of African descent.(BLACK DIGERATI)(Rick Kitties)(African Ancestry)
- Article from:
- Black Enterprise
- Article date:
- August 1, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 Earl G. Graves Publishing Co., Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Rick Kitties confesses that the motivation for starting his company was purely selfish. "Like many African Americans, I wanted to trace my ancestry. But like so many of us, I hit a brick wall." So, the molecular biologist did something about it.
Two years ago, Kitties and his partner, Gina Paige, started Maryland-based African Ancestry. The company sells DNA-based genealogy tests, at $349 each, which can pinpoint where in Africa a client's ancestors came from.
Clients use swabs to wipe inside their cheeks and return the DNA samples via express delivery service. African Ancestry then sends the samples to Sorensen Genomics, a Salt Lake City, Utah-based ...