Losing your virginity: How we discovered that your genes could play a part

Love and sex news: in pictures

• 1/18
  
  ‘Weird’ sexual fetishes are actually very normal

  A number of sexual fetishes considered anomalous in psychiatry are actually common in the general population, a study has found. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), sexual interests fall into two categories: normal (normophilic) and anomalous (paraphilic). Researchers asked 1,040 Quebec residents, representative of the general population, about their experiences of sexual behaviour considered abnormal by the DSM-5. The study, published in The Journal of Sex Research, found that of the eight types of anomalous behaviour listed in the DSM-5, four were found to be neither rare or unusual among the experiences and desires reported by men and women

• 2/18
  
  Gym ‘used as a hook-up spot’

  People who hope to find love and get fit in the New Year may find it surprisingly easy to tick off both goals, as a new survey has revealed that half of adults use the gym as a hook-up venue, while a quarter admit to having sex there. Apparently not put off by the surroundings, a new survey of how Britons behave in the gym has found that 25 per cent claimed to have had sex there at least once in the past 12 months

• 3/18
  
  Erectile dysfunction ‘linked to risk of early death’

  Men who suffer from erectile dysfunction (ED) are 70 per cent more likely to die early, a new study has found. US scientists believe that the disorder may be linked to poor cardiovascular health, and suggested that men with ED should be screened for health issues that could cut their lives short

• 4/18
  
  39 per cent of workers have sex at Christmas parties

  The festive season may be a time for good will and sharing – but it’s also apparently the perfect excuse to hook-up with the cute person from accounts, according to a survey which has revealed that 39 per cent of people have had sex at their work Christmas party. Even more people admitted that the annual knees-up offered the chance to kiss a co-worker, with over locking lips at the event. A survey of 2,000 UK adults by high-street lingerie retailer Ann Summers revealed that IT and HR are the professions most likely to snog or have sex with a colleague or get incredibly drunk at the Christmas party, at 63 per cent and 56 per cent respectively.This was compared with 27 per cent of those in education and 29 per cent in health

• 5/18
  
  Durex calls for a condom emoji

  Emojis have come a long way in recent years – since they were first integrated into Unicode in 2010, we’ve gained emojis of all different ethnicities, emojis for every flag in the world, and even the middle finger emoji. However, we’re still missing a condom emoji. Durex wants to change that. It’s easy to suggest sex with emojis (think aubergine, peach, the ‘OK’ sign), but there’s nothing that shows safe sex. So, to coincide with World AIDS Day on 1 December, Durex is encouraging its customers to call upon the Unicode Consortium, who oversee the introduction of new emoji, to give the world a condom emoji in their next update

• 6/18
  
  Spliting the housework equally is the secret to a better sex life

  Better communication, getting more exercise, oysters, more date nights, time away from the kids – these are just a few common theories for how couples can improve their sex life. But now, a new study has offered up a different one, suggesting that the key to being more satisfied between the sheets could in part be down to taking it in turns to wash them. According to the study from the University of Alberta, couples enjoyed more frequent and satisfying sex for both partners when the housework is split equally across men and women

• 7/18
  
  Arguing with a partner is beneficial

  Arguing in a relationship is not often seen as having a positive impact on both partners. But a new study from US psychologists suggests that if each party feels understood, falling out does not have a detrimental impact on their satisfaction in the relationship. Researchers at the University of California said feeling understood appeared to improve a relationship on its own, regardless of any practical consequence of that understanding. And when people felt their partners understood them, the conflict was not only not harmful but actually good for the relationship

• 8/18
  
  Ireland gay marriage

  Same-sex couples in the Republic of Ireland can officially get married after the country voted overwhelmingly for the change in a referendum in May. Legislation legalising gay civil marriage, passed following the vote, came into effect on 16 November 2015. The first couples to be affected will be gay couples who married legally abroad – whose unions will now automatically be recognised by the Irish state. But the race is now on to see who which couple will become the first gay newlyweds to legally marry in Eire itself

• 9/18
  
  ‘Female Viagra’ approved

  A drug dubbed the ‘female Viagra’ has finally been approved by the US Food and Drug administration but concerns have been raised over the drug’s possible side effects. Flibanserin, produced by Sprout Pharmaceuticals, was approved by the FDA on the third application in five years – after twice failing over concerns regarding possible side-effects.

  AP

• 10/18
  
  Grindr users surveyed on sexual preferences

  Grindr users are not that gay, at least according to a new survey. More than 300 users on the gay dating app, contacted by Pink News as part of an informal study, did not identifying as exclusively attracted to men.
  The study used the Kinsey scale, based on the work of sexologist Alfred Kinsey, which ranges from 0 (exclusively straight) to 6 (exclusively gay) and also allows identification as asexual (X).
  Pink News found that the average answer was around five, with the most frequent answer being five, followed by six and then four when they contacted users from their office in central London.

  Rex

• 11/18
  
  Watching porn does not cause negative attitudes to women

  The average porn user may have more egalitarian views towards women than non-users, a contentious new study has suggested. Researchers at Western University in Canada have even argued that many pornography fans might be “useful allies” in women’s struggles for equality in the workplace and in public office. They reported in the Journal of Sex Research that the 23 per cent of people who said they had watched an “X-rated” film during the previous year were no more or less likely to identify as feminists than those who did not watch porn.

  Getty

• 12/18
  
  The characteristics of men who pay for sex

  Men who pay for sex share similar traits to rapists and sex offenders, according to new research. A study from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), claims that men who have sex with female sex workers feel less empathy for them than men who do not buy sex. Part of this reason is due to the fact that they view them as “intrinsically different from other women,” according to the authors.

  Getty Images

• 13/18
  
  How much sex we have (and how much we’d like)

  As a nation, we don’t have as much sex as we would like, a survey has (somewhat unsurprisingly) confirmed. In a poll of 1523 people by YouGov, 64 per cent of Britons said they would wish to have sex at least a few times a month. The same sample said that only 38 per cent had sex at least a few times a month.
  In addition, 10 per cent said they wished to have sex every day, a goal which only 1 per cent admitted reaching.

• 14/18
  
  One per cent of Britons ‘have never felt sexually attracted to anyone at all’

  An estimated 1% of Britons have almost no interest in sexual activity, according to researchers.
  The identity, which describes rarely or never experiencing sexual attraction, has moved from a diagnosis of mental disorder in the past to a sexual orientation in its own right today.
  As public interest in “asexuality” grows, researchers at Glasgow University have found that romance and intimacy is still very much on the cards for those who take the label.

  Rex

• 15/18
  
  Women really are more attracted to men who make them laugh

  Researchers at an American university have claimed that humour is a key factor in human “sexual selection”, with women appearing to be more attracted to men who make them laugh. Jeffrey Hall, an associate professor of Communication Studies at the University of Kansas, found that when two strangers meet, the more times a man tries to be funny and a woman laughs, the more likely she is to be interested in dating.
  The reverse was not true for women who attempted humour, according to his study “Sexual Selection and Humour in Courtship: A Case for Warmth and Extroversion,” which has been published in the Evolutionary Psychology journal.

  Getty

• 16/18
  
  What makes a perfect penis?

  Scientists have now answered one of these great unknowns. According to a new study, “general cosmetic appearance” is the most important penile aspect when it comes to what women value down there. This is swiftly followed by the appearance of pubic hair, penile skin, and girth. Length comes in at number six, with the look of the scrotum trailing closely behind.
  The least important facet of the phallus, say the scientists, is the “position and shape of meatus”, the vertical slit at the opening of the urethra.

• 17/18
  
  Students who marry after studying the same subject

  Picking a university subject is already difficult enough for young people. But here’s an extra piece of data to weigh on your decision: you may be picking a life partner as well. Dan Kopf of the blog, Priceonomics, analysed US Census data and found that the percentage of Americans who marry someone within their own major is actually fairly high.
  About half of Americans are married, according to the 2012 American Community Survey (part of the Census). And about 28 per cent of married couples over the age of 22 both graduated from college. (The survey didn’t recognise same-sex marriages for the 2012 data, but it will for 2013 onwards, says Kopf)

• 18/18
  
  Half of divorcees had doubts on their wedding day

  Over half of divorcees considered abandoning their husband or wife-to-be at the altar on their wedding day, a new study has revealed. On top of likely worrying about wedding favours and making sure guests behave on their big day, 49 per cent of divorcees admitted they were unsure before the ceremony that their marriage would last.
  Some 15 per cent of divorcees polled said they were so wracked with doubt that they felt physically sick in the run up to their wedding.

  Getty Images

Human genetics studies have identified many genes that are linked to individual differences in the onset of puberty. There are broadly two approaches used to map such genes – studies of patients affected by rare disorders that affect puberty and large-scale population studies. The former is helpful because it can investigate gene variants that cause extremely early or delayed/absent puberty.

In previous research, we used population studies to survey a large number of individuals using questionnaires and then genome-wide association studies to scan these same participants for common genetic differences. We could then assess whether the participants’ reported age at puberty was related to particular gene variants. In this way, we have in a number of studies identified more than 100 such variants, each modifying puberty timing by just a few weeks. However, together they contribute substantially.

We now understand that both nature and nurture play a roughly equal role in regulating the timing of puberty. For example, studies have consistently shown that obesity and excessive nutrition in children can cause an early onset of puberty.

Genetic factors

However, we know far less about the biological and genetic factors behind the ages that we first have sexual intercourse or have a first child. This is because previous research has focused more on environmental and family factors than genetics. But the launch of UK Biobank, a study with over half a million participants, has greatly helped to fill this lack of knowledge.

In our new study, we used this data to survey some 125,000 people in the same way as in the puberty studies. We found 38 gene variants associated with the age of first sexual intercourse. The genes that we identified fall broadly into two groups. One category is genes with known roles in other aspects of reproductive biology and pubertal development, such as the oestrogen receptors, a group of proteins found on cells in the reproductive tract and also in behaviour control centres of the brain.

The other group includes genes which play roles in brain development and personality. For example, the gene CADM2, which controls brain activity and also has strong effects on whether we regard ourselves to be risk-takers. We discovered that this gene was also associated with losing your virginity early and having a higher number of children throughout life. Similarly, the gene MSRA, linked to how irritable we are, was also associated with age at first sexual intercourse. Specifically, people who are more irritable typically have a later encounter. However, more research is needed to show exactly how these genes help regulate the timing of the reproductive milestones.

We were also able to quantify that around 25% of the variation in these milestones was due to genetic differences rather than other factors.

Implications for public health

An important reason why we study reproductive ageing is that these milestones impact reproductive outcomes and also broader health risks. Epidemiological studies show that individuals who go through puberty at younger ages have higher risks of many diseases of old age, such as diabetes, heart disease and breast cancer. Similarly, first sexual intercourse at an earlier age is linked to a number of adverse behavioural, educational and health outcomes.

Using a statistical genetics approach called Mendelian Randomisation, a technique that helps clarify the causal relationship between human characteristics, these studies can tell us whether such epidemiological associations are likely to be causal rather than just random associations. We managed to show that early puberty actually contributes to a higher likelihood of risk-taking behaviours, such as sexual intercourse at an earlier age. It was also linked to having children earlier, and having more children throughout life.

These findings, along with previous studies linking early puberty and loss of virginity to social and health risks, back the idea that future public health interventions should aim to help children avoid early puberty, for example by diet and physical activity and avoiding excess weight gain. Our findings predict that this would have benefits both on improving adolescent health and educational outcomes and also for future health at older ages.

John Perry is a senior investigator at the University of Cambridge. Ken Ong is the Group Leader of the Development Programme at the MRC Epidemiology Unit, Cambridge,

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