And second, they are only talking about women/girls with the remark about lower educational achievement, poorer physical and mental health... I mean, that doesn't affect the sperm donor, does it? Or is 'risk-taking' also associated with not taking very good care of oneself... kinda like a death wish, but making sure you have children before that reckless deathwish removes you from the gene pool?
The age at which people lose their virginity depends on a variety of factors, such as peer pressure, religion, parental guidance, culture, and, of course, opportunity. But new research suggests that to some extent, the timing of this rite of passage may also be influenced by genes. After studying the genomes of more than 380,000 people, British geneticists calculated that DNA differences could account for 25 percent of the variation in when their subjects had sex for the first time. Overall, they identified 38 sections of DNA involved in this milestone, including gene variants that affect behavior, personality, and the onset of puberty. Not surprisingly, perhaps, genes linked to risk-taking were associated with an early loss of virginity and producing a large number of children. Meanwhile, another gene, associated with irritability, was found in people who put off having sex, which in the grand scheme is not necessarily a bad thing. First sexual experiences and first childbirth at relatively early ages “have been associated with lower educational achievement, poorer physical health, poorer mental health,” researcher John Perry of Cambridge University tells Scientific American—“a complex web of negative stuff.”
Blurb taken from the May 6th edition of The Week Magazine.
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