A new trend in teenage sex?, and more

A new trend in teenage sex?

About 57 percent of girls in the U.S. between 15 and 19 have not had sexual intercourse, according to a new report by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s up from 49 percent of teenage girls who said they were virgins in 1995.

Associated Press

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Super PACs and negative political ads

Propelled by a huge influx of spending by Super PACs, 70 percent of the political ads aired so far in the 2012 race have been negative—defined as criticizing an opponent by name. In 2008, the share of negative ads at this point was 9.1 percent.

Los Angeles Times

Myopia in Asian children increases

The rate of myopia—shortsightedness—among schoolchildren in Japan, China, and other Asian nations has soared from 20 percent to more than 80 percent over the past generation, according to a new study in The Lancet. Researchers said the “extraordinary rise” in eye problems was caused by students spending many hours a day in class and at home studying, and virtually no time in natural sunlight.

BBC.com

Number of Mormons up by 45 percent

The number of Mormons in the U.S. grew by 45 percent to 6.1 million between 2000 and 2010, according to a new study by the Association of Religion Data Archives. The census found that the number of Catholics, the largest single faith, declined 5 percent to 58.9 million during the decade.

Reuters.com

Immigrants beat native-borns on history test

About 93 percent of immigrants applying for U.S. citizenship correctly answer six out of 10 questions about American history and government. In a survey, just 65 percent of native-born Americans could get six of 10 questions right.

USA Today