Why are natural history collections so important? In this episode, VMNH Administrator of Science Ben Williams sits down with Dr. Jory Brinkerhoff from the University of Richmond and VMNH Curator of Mammalogy Dr. Nancy Moncrief to address that very question. Drs. Brinkerhoff and Moncrief recently collaborated on a paper about the historical prevalence of Lyme disease in Virginia, and their research was only possible thanks to some long-preserved mice in the VMNH collections. The results of their research showed a dramatic rise in Lyme disease in Virginia over the last couple of decades; be sure to listen in to hear a few theories as to why the numbers have increased.