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If the holy grail of medieval alchemists was turning lead into gold, how much more magical would it be to draw gold from, well, poop? It turns out that a ton of sludge, the goo left behind when treating sewage, could contain several hundred dollars' worth of metals-potentially enough to generate millions of dollars worth of gold, silver, and other minerals each year for a city of a million people.

In July, the AP reported that its first round of tests showed disease-causing viruses directly linked to human sewage at levels up to 1.7 million times what would be considered highly alarming in the U.S. or Europe. Experts said athletes were competing in the viral equivalent of raw sewage and exposure to dangerous health risks almost certain. The results sent shockwaves through the global athletic community, with sports officials pledging to do their own viral testing to ensure the waters were safe for competition in next year's games. Those promises took on further urgency in August, after pre-Olympic rowing and sailing events in Rio led to illnesses among athletes nearly double the acceptable limit in the U.S. for swimmers in recreational waters.

NPR's Jason Beaubien explains cholera, a deadly disease spread through water contaminated with sewage, in under two minutes.

When researchers tested wastewater before and after treatment at a Milwaukee-area treatment plant, they found that two drugs-the anti-epileptic carbamazepine and antibiotic ofloxacin-came out at higher concentrations than they went in. The study suggests the microbes that clean our water may also piece some pharmaceuticals back together.