A multi-cellular virtual tissue having the emergent properties of self-repair, adaptive response to an altered environment, or tissue differentiation, and a method of generating the tissue by computer modeling are disclosed. The tissue is formed of a plurality of virtual cells, each having a heritable virtual genome containing a set of virtual genes relating to each of (a1) intercellular adhesion, (a2) cell division, (a3) cell growth, (a4) intercellular signaling, and (a5) the state of one cell relative to an adjacent cell. In forming the tissue, the sequential operation and actions of the genes are guided by (1) chemical-interaction rules that govern the extra-genetic behavior of one or more molecules placed or produced in the environment, (2) action rules that specify a cell's adhesion, growth, or cell-division condition, in response to molecules produced by a cell's genes relating to intercellular adhesion, cell growth, or cell division, respectively, and (3) physical-interaction rules that govern how a cell will move in response to its own growth or division or the growth or division of neighboring cells.