  We have developed a mathematical model that captures stress-induced
mutagenesis, a fundamental aspect of pathogenic and neoplastic evolutionary
dynamics, on the fitness landscape with multiple relevant genetic traits as a
high-dimensional Euclidean space. In this framework, stress-induced mutagenesis
manifests as a heterogeneous diffusion process. We show how increasing
mutations, and thus reducing exploitation, in a static ecology with fixed
carrying capacity and maximum growth rates, can paradoxically boost population
size. Remarkably, this unexpected biophysical phenomenon applies universally to
any number of traits.
