Gridcoin combines the energy-efficiency of Proof of Stake with scientific "Proof of Work" aka Proof of BOINC to Proof of Research.
With the energy-efficiency of Blackcoin you can generate interest. While you are (optionally) donating your computation power to different BOINC projects (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkeley_Open_Infrastructure_for_Network_Computing) like cancer or malaria research, you generate additional coins.
The coin exists for more than 2 years now, there has been no premining. It is ASIC resistant because every whitelisted BOINC project has own algorithms and work on the projects is individually compensated. Some of the projects can utilize your CPU, some also the GPU and there is one for ASIC.
BTC thread: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=324118.new#new
CCT thread (main): https://cryptocointalk.com/topic/1331-new-coin-launch-announcement-grc-gridcoin/page-1115
Coinmarketcap: http://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/gridcoin/
Quez
I second Gridcoin, it is already the second biggest team on boincstats for recent average credit (http://boincstats.com/en/stats/-1/team/list/16/0#2) and has done incredible amounts of research to cure Ebola (http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/research/oet1/overview.do), fold proteins (https://boinc.bakerlab.org/) or find aliens (http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/).
Really, what could be a better humanitarian goal than bringing lots of people to donate their computing power to science for free?
I also add a vote for Solarcoin, which is incentivising people to install Solar PV, also very worthy.
Im not sure why Sia is added to a list like this, its a good coin Im using and invested in. Im also not clear why some other coins made it on this list, perhaps Im mis-interpreting the word 'ethical'.