  The unexpected high bump in the UV part of the spectrum found in nearby giant
elliptical galaxies, a.k.a. the UV upturn, has been a subject of debate. A
remarkable progress has been made lately from the observational side, mainly
involving space telescopes. The GALEX UV telescope has been obtaining thousands
of giant ellipticals in the nearby universe, while HST is resolving local
galaxies into stars and star clusters. An important clue has also been found
regarding the origin of hot HB stars, and perhaps of sdB stars. That is,
extreme amounts of helium are suspected to be the origin of the extended HB and
even to the UV upturn phenomenon. A flurry of studies are pursuing the physics
behind it. All this makes me optimistic that the origin of the UV upturn will
be revealed in the next few years. I review some of the most notable progress
and remaining issues.
