Every day, your body replaces billions of cells—and yet, your tissues stay perfectly organized. How is that possible?

A team of researchers at ChristianaCare’s Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute and the University of Delaware believe they’ve found an answer.

In a study published in Biology of the Cell, they show that just five basic rules may explain how the body maintains the complex structure of tissues like those in the colon, for example, even as its cells are constantly dying and being replaced.