Your first time having sex and when you have your first child are memorable moments in life. But what influences the timing of these? One research team set out to discover whether our genes play a role. A study, published last week in Nature Human Behaviour, found hundreds of regions of our genetic code associated with how old we are when we first have sex and have our first child. This research was always going to get lots of media attention. We’ve seen provocative headlines such as: When you lose your virginity may be written in your GENES. Media attention is partly placed on the role of genetics on the loss of virginity, which is a controversial social construct with a lot of cultural significance.