Hi!
I noticed that in org@888aaa97c0ce331097787333d0d712dd6e4d078f, the following happens:
When writing `Consider $a^{*}$ and $b^{*}$` in an org-mode buffer, the two stars match together, causing "and" to appear in bold case. 

Any idea to fix this unwanted behavior ?

Thanks for making org-mode better every day!
Leo