A: Parrondo’s paradox is an odd thought from sport idea (and earlier than that from physics). It reveals that when two dropping methods are alternated in a selected sequence, the end result generally is a profitable technique. A standard approach to image this is with coin-tossing video games: even when every sport individually drains your cash by stacking the percentages towards you, switching between them at particular intervals can enable your fortune to develop as a substitute of shrink. The paradox has turn out to be a great tool throughout science to elucidate how mixing two dangerous choices can create a greater end result.
In most cancers remedy, for instance, docs typically use two fundamental chemotherapy schedules. The most tolerated dose (MTD) blasts tumours with excessive doses of medication at spaced intervals. While highly effective at first, MTD tends to depart behind resistant most cancers cells that finally take over. The low-dose metronomic (LDM) schedule delivers smaller, steady doses. But if the dose is too weak, delicate cells escape management, and if it is too sturdy, resistant cells dominate.
A research printed in Physical Review E in August 2025 examined what occurs when MTD and LDM are alternated moderately than utilized alone. Using mathematical fashions and laptop simulations, researchers discovered that biking between MTD and LDM may delay the rise of resistant cells and protect wholesome cells longer. In impact, the technique — which nonetheless must be examined in an actual-world setting — achieves what neither one may accomplish that alone: simpler lengthy-time period management. This is a weak type of Parrondo’s paradox.
