The researchers point to many similarities between hiccuping and gill ventilation in animals such as tadpoles.

BBC: Why we hiccup

The researchers hope that the system will uncover more "hiccuping" pulsars to help elucidate how they work.

MSN: Oddball pulsating star hiccups as it spins

There must, however, be a reason why hiccuping persists 370 million years after animals started hauling themselves onto the land.

BBC: Why we hiccup

From 26 weeks, they appear to exhibit a whole range of typical baby behaviour and moods, including scratching, smiling, crying, hiccuping, and sucking.

BBC: NEWS | Health | Scans uncover secrets of the womb

After coming to a complete standstill, Wall Street is seeing a slow, hiccuping restart as damaged power lines and subway lines continue to separate deal-makers from their closings.

FORBES: Press Pause for Sandy

This latest theory, originally published in the journal BioEssays and reported in New Scientist magazine, says the key to hiccuping lies in a group of animals for whom combining closure of the glottis and contraction of the "breathing in" muscles does serve a clear purpose.

BBC: Why we hiccup