39%

Increase in the number of young people having unsafe sex in the last three years in the U.S., according to a new survey commissioned by Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals that involved more than 6,000 young people from 26 countries. In France, the number of young people having unsafe sex rose 111%; in Britain, 19%. More than half of respondents in countries like the U.S., China, South Korea, Norway and Thailand reported having unprotected sex. The high rates may have to do with the lack of effective sex education, the researchers suggest; many young people don't have appropriate education about contraception and still operate under myths about sex — for instance, that showering or bathing after sex will prevent pregnancy. [via Reuters]